The Shinigami of the Four Winds
by DocHoliday0316
Summary: Naruto dies at the Valley of the End, and is sent to the Soul Society, where joins the Gotei 13, becoming Captain of the 3rd Division shortly after Sosuke Aizen's defection. With Aizen's eyes set on Konoha, Naruto leads a team of Shinigami (including Ichigo, Renji, and Byakuya) into the Shinobi World. How will everyone react to Naruto's return? No pairings.
1. The Calm Before the Storm

**Shinigami of the Four Winds**

Hello, and welcome to my first story. This is my first time writing fan fiction, so please go easy on me in your reviews Also, I'd like to give a big shoutout to Rocker1600, probably one of the greatest Naruto/Bleach fan fiction writers on the site. He will be acting as my beta for this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Bleach

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Opening Song: "Sign" by Flow (Naruto Shippuden)

Ending Song: "Hōkiboshi" by Younha (Bleach)

_Before the Current Story Began…_

_In the Valley of the End, which bordered the lands of Fire and Sound, a battle was taking place beneath the statues of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. The battle was between two genin of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke had decided to leave Konoha and join forces with the vile Orochimaru in order to gain power to kill his brother Itachi, who was responsible for the massacre of the their clan while Naruto, who considered Sasuke his friend despite the way he had treated him, was a part of a squad sent to retrieve Sasuke. However, every other member had been forced to fight off Orochimaru's Sound 5 in order to allow Naruto to continue onwards. When Naruto had finally caught up with Sasuke, he tried to make his friend see the error of his ways, but it was only in vain as Sasuke refused to listen to his pleas. Both ninja fought with all their effort, both determined to defeat each other until, at the climax of the fight, Naruto prepared to use a Rasengan enhanced by the Kyubi's chakra while Sasuke prepared to use his Chidori enhanced by Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven. The two genin charged at each other, their jutsus colliding. It created a large explosion and shockwave, knocking the two ninja back._

_Sasuke survived but was knocked unconscious and severely injured; Naruto, on the other hand, was not so lucky. The Chidori had pierced him straight through his chest, and the shockwave had knocked him into the lake below. To make matters worse, his body was paralyzed by electricity generated by the Chidori. As the darkness claimed him, Naruto decided to accept his fate. He was saddened by the fact that he would be able to fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage, but was glad he was able to stop Sasuke from making the wrong decision, which allowed him to die with a smile._

_When he woke up, Naruto found himself in a place called the Soul Society, the home of the Shinigami, who ferried the departed souls into the afterlife. He was reunited with his parents, and was surprised to learn their identities, and several other former shinobi that had come before him. Naruto was also surprised to learn that the Kyubi, whose name turned out to be Kurama, had died with him as the Tailed Beast was now bound to the young genin's soul._

_A month after initially reaching the Soul Society, Naruto decided to become a shinigami like his parents and enrolled in the Shino Academy. While at the Academy, he learned that nobody there really cared about him being a jinchuriki, and he did not suffer the prejudices he had to deal with when he was alive. Due to his exceptional growth rate, Naruto was considered to be a prodigy and one of the best students the Shino Academy ever had (which was ironic, considering that he was the dead last of the Konoha Ninja Academy). He was soon able to graduate in half a year's time, and was considered a genius, along the likes of Gin Ichimaru, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and Kaien Shiba._

_After graduating, Naruto joined the 13th division of the Gotei 13. He was able to eventually gain Kurama's trust during this time and, with it, full access to his chakra (which had been converted into Reiatsu upon dying). Jushiro Ukitake, the 13th Division Captain who had taken a liking to the boy, decided to make the blonde his lieutenant, a position that had been vacant ever since the death of Kaien Shiba. He became well-liked by his subordinates and became good friends with Rukia Kuchiki, an unseated officer._

_Naruto's new life was turned upside down two years later, however, when Rukia lost her powers to a human, and was subsequently arrested because of it; this would cause a chain of events that neither Naruto nor anyone else could've ever predicted…_

**Chapter 1 - The Calm Before the Storm**

[Sokyoku Hill, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_Current Time…_

Underneath the main execution grounds and physical center of the Soul Society there was a secret underground area; it was a large cavern with several small cliffs and a few dead trees. Two men soon entered the training area; one of them appeared to be a man in his twenties while the other looked like a teenager.

The older man had bright blue eyes and spiky blond hair with two bangs framing his face. He wore a standard shinigami shihakusho with white tabi socks and black opened toed sandals. On his left arm was an armband with a badge that identified him as the lieutenant of the Fifth Division of the Gotei 13. A katana hung from the left side of his waist; it had a pure white sheath was pure and a pale yellow hilt while the tsuba was silver in color with a stylized flame pattern and shaped like a square with the corners cut off.

The teenager also had spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes. An interesting feature that he had were six marks, three on each cheek, which resembled whiskers. He also wore a shinigami shihakusho but with a few modifications. The sleeves of his kosode ended just below his elbows while shihakusho opened up a bit at his chest. He wore black, open toed sandals in place of the standard tabi and waraji and a burnt orange sash in place of the standard white one. He customized his outfit with a headband and necklace. The headband was made of black cloth and had a metal plate with the kanji for "shinigami" sewn on while the necklace consisted of a green crystal on a leather string. On the left side of his sash was a katana. It had a circular tsuba with a spiral pattern on it and a black hilt with burnt orange hilt wrappings. It was kept in an ebony black sheath.

The older man was Minato Namikaze, the former Yondaime Hokage in his past life and the current lieutenant of the Fifth Division, which was under the command Captain Sosuke Aizen while the teenager was Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, Minato's son and the lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, under the command Captain Jushiro Ukitake. The father and son duo were currently at this secret training ground so that younger Namikaze could undergo his bankai training; this would be the first time, and hopefully the last time that Naruto would need to do this training.

As he walked into the training area Naruto let out a long whistle while taking a look around the area.

"I can't believe nobody has ever found this place before, Dad," Naruto said to Minato, who turned around and gave his son a warm smile.

"Well, rumor has it that this training area was created by the former captains of the Second and Twelfth Divisions before they left the Soul Society with nine other shinigami," Minato explained.

Naruto scowled upon hearing his dad's explanation.

"Why do I have a feeling that that snake Aizen was behind their exile?" Naruto asked rhetorically with a hint of venom when he said the Fifth Division Captain's name.

Due to his life back in Konoha Naruto had develpoed into a very empathetic person and, as a result of this, he was able to easily see through the act that Aizen was putting on since he first arrived in the Soul Society three years. He knew that the Sosuke Aizen that everyone else saw, the kind person that treated his subordinates with kindness and compassion, was just a mask he put on and he had a feeling that Aizen was up to something. Naruto had relayed his suspicions to his father and mother, Kushina Uzumaki, the Third seated officer of the Fifth Division, though they also were suspicious of their own Captain well before Naruto arrived. This information was soon disseminated among the other shinobi turned shinigami who, having realized the seriousness of the situation, decided that they should prepare to confront Aizen before he made his move, whatever that move may be.

That move, however, came much sooner than they expected and it struck close to home, so to speak, for Naruto when Rukia Kuchiki, one of the other members of the Thirteenth Division, was arrested in the World of the Living and was sentenced be to be executed by Central 46, the main governing body of the Soul Society. The suspicious nature of Rukia's arrest and punishment left little doubt in the minds of the former shinobi that Aizen had hand in this; the fact that it was Rukia of all people who had to suffer due to Aizen's manipulations was what really got Naruto's blood boiling.

The former shinobi wasted no time in preparing for a confrontation with Aizen but they were now racing against the clock; Naruto and Minato were already stretching their luck as Rukia's execution was to take place eight days from now.

"Alright! Let's get started!" Minato said enthusiastically as he clapped his hands together.

"Since we're pressed for time as it is, I'm giving you a limit of three days to achieve Bankai. You must subjugate your zanpakuto's materialized spirit in those three days. If you can't, then you'll just have to confront Aizen without bankai. Do you understand?" Minato asked as he wanted to make sure his son understood exactly what he was saying

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll achieve Bankai in half that time." Naruto said as he flashed a confident grin.

Minato returned the expression.

"You remind me of your mother so much. Now then, please activate your shikai," Minato instructed.

Naruto nodded and unsheathed his zanpakuto, holding up in the air with his right hand. Concentrating, he took a deep breath and said the release command.

"**Break through the storm, Kaze no Moi (Fury of the Winds)**," Naruto yelled.

Orange colored spiritual energy suddenly covered the sword which was then overlapped by a small cyclone. The cyclone dissipated, revealing Kaze no Moi's shikai state. It took the form of a chokuto sword with a katana-like hilt. The blade was three feet in length that was silver in color while the hilt was a dark red color. Attached to the base of the hilt was a leather strap with three charms on it. The first charm took the appearance of a red Uzumaki clan symbol, the second charm took the form of the kanji for wind, and the third charm took the form of the kanji for shinobi.

Naruto twirled the sword in his hands before resting it on his shoulder by the flat part of the blade.

"Very good. Now, focus your reiatsu into your sword and have Kaze no Moi materialize," Minato said.

Naruto gave a nod in affirmation and pointed his blade in front of him. He began to focus his reiatsu into the sword until the blade was completely covered in an orange aura. Suddenly, the reiatsu shot out like a bolt of lightning and hit one of the cave's walls, creating a large cloud of dust. The cloud slowly started to dissipate, revealing a silhouette hidden within it.

"Well, well, well… it took long enough to decide to train for bankai; though I'm still surprised that you even had the guts to try, Naruto." the silhouette said; as the dust clouds finally disappeared the manifested spirit of Naruto's zanpakuto, Kaze no Moi (or Kaze for short), was finally visible.

He took the form of a man who looked like he was in his late twenties, just like Minato, with a slightly muscular build. He had spiky, blood red hair that ended midway down his back, with two bangs framing his face, while his emerald green eyes had slit-shaped pupils.

Kaze wore a dark red haori with sleeves that ended midway at the forearms, a black flame pattern along the hemline, and a black spiral on the back. Along with the coat, he wore a mesh armor undershirt, a black hakama with a red sash, and geta-style sandals. He also had a spiral tattoo on his stomach that had two half-circles above the top and bottom of it. Each half circle had four protrusions on it pointing away from the spiral (A/N: think of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style seal and you get the picture).

In his right hand he held a customized straight blade katana that took the form of his shikai state. The blade was three and a half feet long and was black with a silver edge to it. Unlike the blade Naruto wielded, however, the hilt of the blade Kaze carried was a burnt orange color and had black hilt wrappings. In place of the leather strap there was a thin chain that had one charm on it, the kanji for "wind god". The tsuba was still circular with a spiral pattern on it, but had four protrusions on the top and bottom of the circle.

Naruto gave Kaze a smirk as he held is chokuto in a two handed grip.

"I'll achieve bankai in less a day, you can be sure of that," the young Uzumaki declared.

"Overconfident as always, aren't we?" Kaze replied as he gave Naruto a smirk of his own.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm not cocky and impulsive like I was three years ago," Naruto stated defiantly.

"Yes, but you're still as dense as you've always been," Kaze said in a mocking manner.

The smirk on Kaze's face grew as his insult got his desired reaction out of Naruto if the visible vein that popped out of Naruto's forehead was a sign of anything

"Shut up! I was able to graduate from the Shino Academy in less than a year, for Kami's sake!" Naruto snapped back.

Minato intervened before the insults escalated into something worse.

"Will you two please stop fighting?" the former Hokage kindly asked with no visible sign of irritation in his voice. He knew he had to stop the fight between his son and the materialized spirit of his son's zanpakuto before things got really ugly really.

"Fine. The sooner we're done here the sooner I can go back to pissing off my roommate." Kaze said, referring to Kurama who was just as annoyed by the zanpakuto spirit's taunts as Naruto was, as he lazily held his katana in front of him in a one-handed grip.

"Your challenge is simple enough. You just have to defeat me in armed combat. You can use anything you need to fight me with. Kido spells, zanjutsu, and even shunpo are fair; the only exception to this is Kurama's reiatsu which you cannot use under any circumstances. Do you understand?" the manifested zanpakuto explained.

"Yep," Naruto replied.

"By the way, you'll have to defeat me quickly… because I will kill you if you don't. Are you ready?" Kaze said in a nonchalant manner. Naruto paled slightly at hearing this but soon regained his composure.

"Good. Now then… let's fight!" Kaze yelled out as he charged his master.

Kaze attempted to attack Naruto with a diagonal slash, but Naruto parried the attack and responded with a series of slashes. Both of them locked blades again and then separated themselves by around fifty feet.

Clutching his chokuto in his right hand, Naruto then pointed his left index finger at where the manifested zanpakuto was.

"**Hado #4: Byakurai **(Pale Lightening)" he said as he generated a concentrated lightning bolt at the tip of his finger which he then fired at Kaze.

The materialized zanpakuto easily got out of the way of the Kido spell; Naruto then flash stepped in front of Kaze with his zanpakuto raised in the air with both hands grasping it.

"**Suikawari **(Watermelon Splitting)" Naruto yelled out as he attempted to cut Kaze in half.

The zanpakuto spirit simply dodged the attack with graceful ease; Naruto ended up hitting a boulder instead of his zanpakuto's spirit, cutting it through cleanly like a hot knife through butter. As Naruto recovered from his attack, he looked up and saw that Kaze was standing on top of a boulder with his katana resting on his shoulders and had the same smirk still planted on his face.

"Is that all you got? Beginning level Kido spells and a few Zanjutsu techniques? I was expecting much more from you, Naruto," the zanpakuto said in an insulting tone.

"Heh. I'm just getting warmed up!" Naruto shouted as he charged at Kaze, holding his chokuto in a two handed grip.

Minato, meanwhile, had taken position by a few dead trees, and was now watching his son's fight with the manifested Kaze no Moi

"_This should certainly be interesting,_" Minato thought to himself as he watched Naruto parry another one of the zanpakuto spirit's attacks...

_11 Hours Later..._

Only half a day had passed nto Naruto's three day Bankai Training period and he was already forced onto the defensive. The young Uzumaki has a hard blocking Kaze's fierce and precise attacks; to end the barrage of attacks Naruto and even tried to trap the manifested zanpakuto in one of his mid-level Bakudo spells, but Kaze managed to slip from his master's grasp, if only barely. What annoyed Naruto more than anything else was that Kaze appeared to be simply toying with him.

As he put a few yards between himself and the manifested spirit of his zanpakuto Naruto sighed; he had hoped that he wouldn't have to use this next move but Kaze had now forced his hand.

Naruto sheathed his chokuto into his sash; this surprised of both Minato and Kaze, though Kaze only reacted by raising an eyebrow at this and Minato didn't even visibly react at all.

"That's it? Are you giving up already? I thought you were going to give it your all," Kaze taunted.

"I am not throwing in the towel just yet. I'm just going to try a new technique I've been working on," Naruto said in response.

Before the manifested zanpakuto could question him on this statement, Naruto flash stepped away. Kaze started to look around where his master was only to stop when his master flash stepped in front of him; the zanpakuto by what he saw. Naruto's arms and legs were now covered by what appeared to be a shroud of his reiatsu that both Minato and Kaze noted to be similar to the Shunko technique Soifon used in her last match with Naruto; unlike the one the Captain 2nd Division used, however, Naruto's version took the the form of orange flames instead of white lightning and, in Naruto's case, the orange flames reiatsu shroud was visible.

Before anyone realized what was happening the blonde haired lieutenant suddenly sucker punched Kaze in the face and immediately followed up with a round house kick to his stomach. The force of the punch stunned Kaze while the kick sent the manifested spirit flying into the air. Naruto continued with his assault by flash stepping in front of Kaze and delivering a barrage of punches to his head and torso. Before the zanpakuto spirit could even react to getting hit, Naruto finished his barrage with a right uppercut; the force of the last punch sent Kaze flying up into the air his materialized form spinning like a top.

Realizing that his zanpakuto spirit was finished Naruto flash stepped above where Kaze was as he held his right leg held straight in the air, intending to add insult to Kaze's injury. Using all of his strength Naruto slammed his leg down onto Kaze's stomach which caused the manifested zanpakuto to fall like an anchor and crash into the ground which creating a small crater in the process.

When Kaze regained his senses after several minutes he found that Naruto was standing above him; the shinigami had his foot pressed against Kaze's chest while the tip of his chokuto was now millimeters from manifested zanpakuto's throat. Instead of his usual smirk the manifested Kaze now had a small grin on his face.

"That was a pretty impressive technique you used there. I'm guessing that was Shunko, correct?" he asked.

"Yeah, though it's a special version that I created myself after seeing Soifon using her version; it's so new that I haven't even named it yet. I even helped Soifon some up with the name Shunko before I even began creating this version," Naruto explained

Kaze slowly got up, wincing in pain. He straightened out his mesh shirt and started to dust off his haori, surprising Naruto with his lack of severe injuries. As soon as he was finished dusting off his coat Kaze looked at Naruto and gave him a smile.

"Congratulations, Naruto; you've actually managed to achieve Bankai in less than a day," Kaze said in a mocking tone...

Next Time - The Ryoka

A/N: I plan on having a few OST scenes later in the chapter, beginning with either chapter three or four. Also, here is a listing of the shin obi in the Gotei 13:

2nd Division (Captain Soifon):

Haku Yuki - Lieutenant

Marechiyo Ōmaeda, 3rd Seat

5th Division (Captain Sosuke Aizen):

Minato Namikaze - Lieutenant

Kushina Uzumaki - 3rd Seat

Momo Hinamori - 4th Seat

9th Division (Captain Kaname Tosen):

Fugaku Uchiha - Lieutenant

Shuhei Hisagi - 3rd Seat

Mikoto Uchiha - 4th Seat

11th Division (Captain Kenpachi Zaraki):

Yachiru Kusajishi - Lieutenant

Ikkaku Madarame - 3rd Seat

Zabuza Momochi - 4th Seat

Yumichika Ayasegawa - 5th Seat

13th Division (Captain Jushiro Ukitake)

Naruto Uzumaki - Lieutenant

Kiyone Kotetsu & Sentarō Kotsubaki - 3rd Seat

Rukia Kuchiki - Unseated


	2. The Ryoka

**Chapter 2 – The Ryoka**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Bleach

[Ugendō Quarters, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_Five Days Later…_

It had been five days since Naruto had completed his Bankai training, and only a few days after the "Invasion" had begun; needless to say the past few days were rather brutal for every within the walls of the Seireitei.

It had started with the arrival of five intruders the in West Rukongai region just outside of the Seireitei. The invaders consisted of four teenagers and, for some strange reason, a talking black cat. Naruto was surprised to learn that one of them was apparently the person who Rukia had lost her powers to.

The intruders initially tried to enter through the Western Gate but, after defeating the gatekeeper Jidanbō, were thwarted by Gin Ichimaru, the Captain of the Third Division. Sometime later, the intruders, who were being referred to as "Ryoka" by members of the Gotei 13, had successfully breach the Soul Shield Membrane thanks to the aid of the remaining members of the Shiba Clan; one of the two Shiba clansman had decided to join the Ryoka. The group, however, had gotten separated upon entering the skies and landed in four different areas around the Seretei. That's when the trouble really began.

Two of the Ryoka, Ichigo Kurosaki and Ganju Shiba, had encountered three members of the 11th division: Ikkau Madarame, Zabuza Momochi, and Yumichika Ayasegawa, who were the third, fourth, and fifth seated officers, respectively. Ikkaku had taken on Ichigo, releasing his shikai during the fight, but was defeated. Zabuza was Ichigo's next opponent.

Like his Captain, the former missing Kiri-nin wanted to fight the strongest of the Ryoka. However, he had decided to wait for them to come to him, and his patience had paid off. After a long and drawn out fight, Ichigo had managed to barely defeat Zabuza; this was only the case, however, because Zabuza, unlike Ikkaku, hadn't release his Zanpakuto. After a game of cat and mouse, Ganju had managed to defeat Yumichika with powerful fireworks which the Shiba clan specialized in. Both Zabuza and Ikkaku had suffered from grievous injuries; Yumichika, on the other hand, merely had his hair ruined by the fireworks, with the damage he suffered to his pride, image, and, such as it was, his sense of beauty.

Further chaos spread into the Seiretei when Ichigo defeated Renji Abarai, the lieutenant of the Sixth Division and a good friend of Naruto and Rukia.

Tensions came to a even greater boiling point when Aizen was found seemingly murdered in his office. While this loss was devastating to Momo Hinamori, the 4th Seated officer of the Fifth Division, this had only confirmed the shinobi's suspicions when some of them realized that the "body" was only an illusion made by Aizen's zanpakuto. The former shinobi realized that this was a sign that Aizen was really beginning to make his move.

At around this time one of the Ryoka was then defeated and captured by Shunsui Kyōraku, the rather flamboyant Captain of the Eighth Division. The captured invader was an extremely tall and muscular man with dark skin, wavy brown hair that covered his eyes, and a rather large nose. His name was Yasutora "Chad" Sado and he possessed the ability to cover his right arm in some sort of spiritual armor, which he had used to crush most of the Eighth Division before he was captured.

Even the captains were not entirely untouched by the efforts of the Ryoka, however. Kenpachi Zaraki, the battle-loving Captain of the 11th Division, had manage to track down Ichigo which led to a long and drawn out fight between the two. Though Ichigo had eventually managed to defeat Kenpachi, they were both left grievously wounded. Before anyone could get to the site of the battle, Ichigo was already gone thanks to the efforts of the black cat, named Yoruichi, to get him out of that place. The fact that the strongest of the Ryoka was still out there only caused further chaos within the home of the shinigami.

These events had taken a serious mental and physical toll on many of the shinigami even if they had yet to suffer any losses, especially Captain Ukitake and members of the 13th Division. Throughout this time, Naruto proved himself to be a very capable leader despite being untested, having never faced a crisis this large before even when he was still alive. He managed to keep his division united in spite of the tensions tearing the Seireitei apart from within and even managing to avoid suffering losses within the Thirteenth Division. All the while the young Uzumaki, along with the other former shinobi, prepared for what they saw as an inevitable confrontation with Aizen.

Naruto, who had just returned to his barracks from a meeting with some of the other former ninja, was now visiting Captain Ukitake at the Ugendō Quarters, an area in the 13th Division Barracks that Ukitake used to rest and recuperate from his frequent bouts of illness (although nobody asked what illness he suffered from nor could anyone, even 4th Division, figure out). The white haired captain was currently trimming a bonsai, although he was doing a rather poor job as usual, while Naruto sat across from him. He was enjoying a small snack that consisted of a small plate of mitarashi dango and a cup of green tea.

"No offense Captain, but you're not particularly good at trimming bonsai trees." Naruto chided as he bit off two of the dango and chewed it. Ukitake momentarily stopped trimming the small tree and looked up at his lieutenant.

"I am aware of that, Naruto-san. I trim these bonsai for the simple enjoyment of it," Ukitake said as he went back to his trimming.

Naruto merely sighed as he took a sip of his green tea.

"Anyways, I'm really disappointed that I haven't run into any of the Ryoka yet. I really want to fight one of them," Naruto said to which Ukitake gave him a slight smile.

"I think Captain Zaraki's love for battle has begun to rub off on you," Ukitake said jokingly.

Naruto frowned in annoyance at this comment. He had gained a reputation among the Gotei 13 as being one of its most powerful members for being able to take on and defeat Kenpachi in a fight. The battle-loving captain wanted to fight the blond haired lieutenant because of the immense reiatsu Naruto possessed. Naruto, around a year after becoming a lieutenant, eventually relented and defeated Kenpachi in a swordfight that lasted only half an hour. Kenpachi now considered Naruto as an equal and an honorary member of the 11th Division for defeating him. He would occasionally challenge Naruto to a fight, and Naruto would comply… if only to get Kenpachi off his back for some time.

"At least I'm not stupid enough to go chasing after them and get lost," Naruto said snidely, referring to the fact that Kenpachi had run around for almost a day until he found Ichigo.

He was about to finish off his snack when he and Ukitake felt a sudden surge in reiatsu. Naruto dropped the stick of dango he held in his hand and looked at Ukitake.

"Did you feel that, Captain?" the young lieutnant asked.

"Yes, and I believe it's coming from the Senzaikyū," Ukitake replied. Naruto turned to face the tower as he asked his captain another question

"Should we check it out?"

"Yes, we definitely should, Naruto-san," Ukitake replied. The Captain and his lieutenant flash stepped towards the Senzaikyū. They intended to find out who or what was emitting the surge they felt.

* * *

[Senzaikyū, Sereitei, Soul Society]

_A Few Minutes Later…_

When Naruto and Ukitake finally reached the Senzaikyū, a very unpleasant sight met them. A large man was sprawled out on the bridge, his body covered in several lacerations. A few feet away from the man was the Captain of the Sixth Division, Byakuya Kuchiki. He was recognizable with his slate grey eyes, long black hair (which held three white hairpieces), a pure white scarf wrapped around his neck, and the emotionless express he carried on his face. Near the entrance of the shishinrō was Rukia Kuchiki, a short, petite woman with violet eyes and short black hair. Behind her was a wimpy looking person that Naruto recognized as Hanatarō Yamada, the Seventh Seated officer of the 4th Division and a guy he often protected from bullying members of the 11th Division.

What shocked both Naruto and Ukitake was that Byakuya had released his zanpakuto, **Senbonzakura **(Thousand Cherry Blossoms). He held the hilt of his sword in his right hand, and what appeared to be a thousand cherry blossom petals scattered in the air surrounding him. Before Byakuya could direct his attack to where Rukia and Hanatarō stood, Ukitake rushed forward and firmly grasped Byakuya's right arm. He then let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, close one! Pretty dangerous. Why don't we leave it at that, Captain Kuchiki," Ukitake suggested.

"Captain Ukitake… Naruto," Rukia said as she stood there in complete shock. Ukitake and Naruto then decided to acknowledge Rukia, both in a friendly manner.

"Hey there, Rukia! It's good to see you! Are you alright?" Ukitake asked.

"Hello, Rukia-chan!" Naruto said in warm tone similar to Ukitake's. Byakuya turned his attention away from his sister-in-law/adopted sister and focused his attention to the 13th Division Captain and lieutenant.

"Captain Ukitake and Lieutenant Uzumaki. What are you two doing here?" the man asked with his usual indifference.

"Well, I could ask you the same thing. After all, releasing a zanpakuto in a place like this is a first class offense, even if it is to repel Ryoka. What were you thinking, Kuchiki?" Ukitake questioned.

"The war time exemption allows the unrestricted use of a Shinigami's zanpakuto." Byakuya replied in his stoic manner. This took Ukitake a bit by surprise.

"War exemption? Has the Ryoka infiltration gotten that bad? Was it a Ryoka that killed Aizen?"

"If it's gotten that bad, then why the hell haven't I encountered one of them? More importantly, Byakuya, since when does that give you the right to attack a member of our division… especially when she's your sister, damn it?" Naruto shouted out in an irritated tone.

Before anyone could reply to Naruto's complaint, another surge in reiatsu was felt. This took everyone on the bridge by surprise, as the reiatsu was extremely large. Ukitake then decided to voice everyone's concern.

"What Spiritual Pressure is this? Clearly, it's at the level of a Captain, and it feels quite similar to Naruto-san's. But … I don't recognize it at all," Ukitake exclaimed taking the words that were about to come out of Naruto's mouth.

Suddenly, a blur shot up from under the bridge and straight into the sky. It appeared to be a figure holding onto what seemed to be a large bat-like wing. Everyone on the bridge was startled, except for Byakuya, who kept his stoic expression. The figure descended from the sky and landed right in front of Rukia.

The figure was revealed as a teenage boy who appeared to be around Naruto's age. He was fairly tall, being a few inches taller than Naruto, with a lean build. He possessed spiky orange hair, brown eyes, and peach skin. His face seemed to be set in a near-permanent scowl. He was wearing a standard Shingami shihakusho with a red rosary-like strap across his chest. His kososde was open, revealing a heavily bandaged torso with a bit of blood seeping from it. On his back was a very large sword with the blade wrapped in cloth. It was shaped like an oversized kitchen knife. The sword possessed no hilt or tsuba, and had a cloth wrapped tang.

The boy was holding onto what appeared to be a bone-like wand with a bird's skull at one end. A tentacle-like appendage extended from one end of the wand and was wrapped around the boy's arm while a bat-like wing protruded from the skull at the other end. The bat wing suddenly retracted into the bird's skull and the tentacle went limp around the boy's arm. Rukia was shocked at the revelation of the teenager, and could only utter one word:

"Ichigo …" Rukia said in shock.

The now-named Ichigo promptly ignored Rukia and walked over to Hanatarō and asked if he was okay. When he confirmed that he was, Ichigo then walked over to Rukia and faced her.

"Rukia, I've come here to rescue you," he stated bluntly. Rather than being relieved or thankful, Rukia looked extremely hurt, with tears beginning to form in her eyes. Ichigo was just confused by this.

"What kind of look is that? I've come here to save you! You could at least try to act like you're happy!" Ichigo said in an almost annoyed manner.

Rukia continued to stare at him with tear-filled eyes, before finally speaking a hurt-filled, tearful voice.

"You fool, Ichigo! I told you to never to come after me. I told you I'd _never _forgive you if you did. Now you're all cut up, and there is worse yet to come!" she claimed; this took everyone, minus Byakuya, by surprise… especially Naruto.

Ichigo then looked over to where Ganju's wounded body was and was surprised to see that Naruto was already at his side, applying his healing Kido to some of Ganju's more serious wounds. Ichigo then turned, facing the direction of the two captains.

"That may be so. You can yell about me coming here some other time. Right now, I have to defeat _him_," Ichigo said as he focused his attention on Byakuya, who looked at the orange haired shinigami with an indifferent and uninterested look.

"Ichigo…" Rukia said with a hint of concern in her voice.

"What? Don't tell me you think I'd actually give up after coming all this way…" Ichigo said.

"It's just-" Rukia began to say before Ichigo cut her off.

"…Because I won't. Don't even ask me. I came here to save you and that's what I'm gonna do. Oh, and from now on, I'm ignoring all of your opinions. You're coming with me whenever you want to or not, damnit!" he said before he then pointed an accusing finger at Rukia.

"You got that? Huh? I'm the rescuer here and you just shut up!"

Rukia's hurtful look was now gone and now was replaced by a look that was somewhere between shocked and dumbfounded. Her jaw was dropped and her eyes were now open in a comedic fashion; Naruto realized what was about to happen as Rukia finally said something.

"Wha-what you'd say? Who do you think you are, ordering me around like that? The rescuer isn't supposed to ignore the rescuee!"

"Yeah? And what kind of rescuee complains about the rescue? Why don't you go sit down and tremble in fear while shouting 'Save me! Save me!' like you're suppose to!"

"Ugh, I _don't _need to be saved! AND I **DO NOT** TREMBLE!"

Ichigo responded to Rukia's outrage by making a childish face at her. Everyone on the bridge was confused by the two's argument with the exception of Naruto, who was trying to suppress a snicker. He then approached Captain Ukitake and nudged him with his elbow.

"They look like their happy to see each other; don't you think… Captain?" he asked jokingly. Ukitake responded with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

Ukitake was still taken aback by the fact that this Ryoka was disturbingly similar to Kaien Shiba, his previous lieutenant. He had initially picked Naruto to be his lieutenant because he saw a great deal of Kaien in him and he could tell that this kid was similar to both Kaien and Naruto in more ways than one; the agreeing look in Naruto's eyes only confirmed that he was thinking along similar lines as the 13th Division Captain questioned Byakuya.

"Byakuya, what do you know of this man?" he asked the Sixth Division Captain. Byakuya then turned to face Ukitake with the same look of disinterest on his face.

"I know enough. He has no relation to the man who you are thinking about. This one here is nothing. Nothing but a Ryoka that I shall destroy. This will end and his trifling invasion will be over," Byakuya said before he heard Naruto scoff at his claim.

"If this Ichigo guy was 'nothing', then he wouldn't have Captain level reiatsu. Nor would he be able to break through the Soul Shield Membrane, kick the asses of your lieutenant and two seated officers of the 11th Division, or be able to take on Kenpachi-san, who has monstrous reiatsu… and if he was nothing how come he's still alive after you claimed that you killed him?" Naruto pointed out in a matter-of-fact manner.

Byakuya turned and faced the blonde haired shinigami. He was annoyed by Naruto's retort, despite being fully aware of just how accurate the lieutenant's claims were, but still kept up his emotionless expression.

"What are you saying, Lieutenant Uzumaki?" Byakuya asked.

"What I'm saying is that you shouldn't underestimate your opponents. This Ichigo guy has gotten a hell of a lot stronger since the last time you saw him. And it looks like he's extremely determined to rescue Rukia," Naruto pointed out.

Byakuya chose to ignore Naruto's comment and preceded to walk towards Ichigo, who was doing the same. Ichigo had his right hand gripped on the giant sword's impromptu hilt.

"Look at you, taking everything so slow and casual. All that time Rukia and I were talking, you could have been attacking, but you just stood there," Ichigo retorted.

"Who do you think you're talking to? Do you suppose I need an opening to come after the likes of you? You should know better than to talk so big, _boy_," Byakuya replied rather coldly.

"_Good Kami, this Byakuya guy is arrogant." _Kurama observed, finally deciding to comment on the events unfolding before his host's eyes.

"_And the last horse finally crosses the line; so when did you figure that out?_" Kaze no Moi said in a mocking tone.

"_What did you say?" _Kurama asked in an irritated tone.

"_Will the two of you shut the hell up?"_ Naruto screamed mentally at his two "tenants".

"_Fine. But I have a feeling that Byakuya is about to get a rude awakening, in any case,"_

Byakuya then released his reiatsu in an attempt to intimidate Ichigo. Rukia and Hanatarō, who had considerably smaller levels of reiatsu when compared to Byakuya, were severely weakened by it. Ichigo, on the other hand, was completely unaffected by it, and draw his sword out confidently. This surprised Byakuya though his face didn't show it.

"You must have improved a great deal indeed to be unaffected by my reiatsu. I don't know how you've managed to regain the powers of a shinigami, but I can tell you that you should have stayed peacefully in the world of the living. Instead, you made the mistake of coming here to throw away the life I mercifully spared," Byakuya said

"I'm not going to be throwing it away. I'm going to beat you and leave." Ichigo said, his resolve unwavering.

"I thought I warned you about talking so big," Byakuya said as he suddenly flash stepped away.

Byakuya appeared behind Ichigo, preparing to stab him in the back. Ichigo was able to block this move with the large blade of his sword, however, much to Byakuya's surprise.

"I saw your every step, Byakuya Kuchiki!" Ichgio said in a rather smug tone.

Ichigo then parried the attack and slashed at Byakuya, who promptly blocked it. Both blades separated and the two then created some distance between them. Ichigo now gripped his sword with both hands.

"Well, what do you think, Kuchiki? Your movement is now visible to me," Ichigo boasted.

"Don't confuse skill with a little luck, you damned fool," Byakuya replied, unimpressed with the young Kurosaki's improvements.

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose in response to Byakuya's comment. From what Naruto observed, Ichigo was capable of being a Captain in the Gotei 13 just from the levels of his reiatsu. And he was able to stand his ground against one of the toughest fighters that the Soul Society had to offer (A/N: for those who don't know, I'm referring to Kenpachi). In his mind, Naruto thought that Ichigo stood on equal footing with the Sixth Division Captain. Byakuya was just too prideful to acknowledge this.

Ichigo charged at Byakuya again, who then flash stepped out of the way. He attempted to attack Ichigo from behind again, but once again, Ichigo blocked this. The two continued to fight in a series of attacks, parries, and counter attacks, while every else on the bridge watched in amazement. Naruto was particularly impressed by Ichigo's skill and fighting style.

"_Now that I've seen him in action, I have to admit that Ichigo is pretty good. He still has a long way to go, though." _Naruto thought to himself as both Ichigo and Byakuya traded blows and landed facing each other a few feet away. Byakuya then held his zanpakuto in front of him.

"Very well. It is obvious that you have improved even more than I've thought possible. Before you become too full of yourself, I shall show you the difference between us. The gap in power that you could never fill, not even if you had one thousand years of training," Byakuya said; before he could do anything else, however, a massive amount of reiatsu was unleashed just as a loud voice was heard.

"FOR KAMI'S SAKE, I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOUR ARROGANCE, BYAKUYA! I TOLD YOU NOT TO UNDERESTIMATE HIM, BUT YOU DIDN'T LISTEN. ICHIGO, KICK THIS STUCK UP BASTARD'S ASS! I'LL EVEN CHEER YOU ON!"

Ichigo and Byakuya both turned to the source of the outburst. Naruto was now panting from releasing his pent up irritation at the Sixth Division Captain, though he looked as though he still had flames of death in his eyes. Byakuya had a look on his face that could best be described as annoyed with a hint of anger. Ichigo, on the other hand, was dumbfounded and taken back by the blonde lieutenant's outburst.

"H-have we met before?" Ichigo asked to which Naruto sighed.

"No, we haven't," Naruto replied.

Before Naruto and Ichigo could continue their conversation, or even give proper introductions, a long strip of white cloth wrapped around the blade of Senbonzakura. A figure landed near Byakuya, holding the strip in her hand. It was a dark skinned woman with a slender figure, golden eyes, and long purple hair kept up in a ponytail. She wore an orange over-shirt with two white straps on each shoulder, a black undershirt, black stretch pants, brown shoes, and a beige sash around her waist.

Everyone was surprised by the arrival of this person, especially Byakuya. Naruto now had a comically shocked expression on his face with his jaw hanging open.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it… Byakuya?" the woman asked.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto shouted out as he pointed an accusing finger at the woman.

"Where are my manners? My name is Yoruichi Shihōin," the now-named Yoruichi said.

"Yoruichi… so you're that person that Captain Soi-Fon obsesses over. I have to admit she's a good sparring partner, but her personality leaves a lot to be desired," Naruto said.

"_And I can see why she'd obsess over her," _Naruto thought to himself as he discreetly studied Yoruichi's athletic yet curvaceous body.

"I haven't seen your face in a while. You've been in exile for over 100 years. We thought that you were dead," Byakuya said in a condescending tone.

"Yoruichi, you came here to rescue me. I appreciate that, but I need you to step aside so I can beat this guy. Blondie over there said he'd even cheer me on," Ichigo said; to Kurosaki's surprise, Naruto began to glare at him.

"What did you call me?" Naruto shouted, suddenly simmering with anger.

Before Ichigo could respond, however, Yoruichi jabbed her hand into his open wound. He made a few groans of pain before suddenly passing out. Yoruichi then retracted her hand. Everyone was taken aback by this action, with Naruto being at a particular loss for words. Ukitake was the first to speak up.

"You've injected him with a drug, haven't you? A powerful anesthetic, which you have forced directly into his body to save him. What do you intend to do with him, Yoruichi-san?" Ukitake asked.

He didn't receive an answer as Byakuya interrupted their conversation.

"Don't waste your time trying to help him. Neither of you will ever escape," Byakuya claimed.

"Just listen to you, talking like such a big shot now. And yet I don't believe you have ever beaten me in a game of tag," Yoruichi said with a smirk on her face.

"Shall we give it another try?" Byakuya asked as he flashstepped towards his former mentor.

Yoruichi intercepted this and suddenly appeared behind him. He attempted to slash them with Sebonzakura, but she evaded him. Both Shunpo masters flash stepped towards each other. Byakuya was surprised by Yoruichi's speed, who now appeared on the other side of the bridge. But as soon as her feet touched the ground, Byakuya appeared besides her, his expression completely unchanged.

"Did you really think you could win with a Shunpo that slow?" he asked mockingly as he slashed her with his zanpakuto.

His emotionless face changed when he realized that Yoruichi had disappeared, leaving only a few pieces of tattered orange cloth behind. She then reappeared, crouched on Byakuya's arm.

"Did you really think you could capture me with a Shunpo that predictable?" she teased.

As Naruto observed the two Shunpo master's game, a small smile appeared on his face. This reminded him of the games of "tag" he would play with his father. Minato possessed a mastery of shunpo that was easily on par with Yoruichi's while he had a mastery of shunpo that, according to many of the shinigami, rivaled Byakuya's and he could tell how this was going to end. Naruto's guess was proven right when Yoruichi flash stepped off of Byakuya's arm and reappeared on top of the tower.

"Three days. I shall make this boy stronger than you in three days. Until then, consider the fight between you two postponed. Feel free to give chase, but remember this: Yoruichi Shihōin isn't about to be caught by the likes of you," Yoruichi claimed.

She then flash stepped away from the Senzaikyū, leaving several afterimages behind her making any pursuit of her and the unconscious Kurosaki impossible.

Naruto was left pondering on Yoruichi's statement.

"_For Rukia-chan's sake, I hope you do make Ichigo stronger… especially since I have to deal with Aizen as well," _he thought to himself.

As Naruto called over the two 3rd Seated Officers of his Division to deal with the man he had healed as well as Rukia and Hanataro, the young Uzumaki realized that Ichigo may prove to be a valuable ally later on as Aizen's plan continued to be in motion…

Next Time - Confrontations and Revelations


	3. Confrontations and Revelations

**Chapter 3 – Confrontations and Revelations**

A/N: Just a quick heads up. I plan on having an OST Scene appear in the next chapter. Also, two OC characters will appear once Naruto becomes the Third division Captain.

Please keep sending faves, follows, and reviews

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Bleach

[Right outside the Central 46 Compound, Seretei, Soul Society]

_Three Days Later…_

It had been three days since the confrontation between Ichigo and Byakuya in the Senzaikyū. Ichigo had not been seen anywhere during that time and most of the remaining Ryoka had been captured. What came as a shock to everyone, however, was that it was announced that Rukia's execution had been rescheduled to the following day. The shinobi took this as a sign to move out and confront Aizen.

They were now standing outside the headquarters of the Central 46, the main governing of the Soul Society. All of them were dressed in shihakushos; as with Naruto, however, the ones Zabuza and Kushina wore had a few modification. Kushina had a crimson obi sash in place of the standard one. Zabuza's was drastically different and looked similar to Shūhei Hisagi's. The kosode was slightly form fitting and had its sleeves torn off, given it the appearance of a sleeveless shirt. He also had on light grey wrist warmers and black sandals. A sapphire blue sash was across his chest, in which he held his zanpakuto. It took the form of a nodachi with a dark blue hilt and a skull shaped tsuba.

After some time, Zabuza decided to break the silence and ask Naruto what was on everyone's minds.

"So Naruto, why are you so damn sure that that bastard Aizen is hiding out in the Seijōtōkyorin of all places?"

Naruto closed his eyes as he began to tell his fellow shinigami his explanation.

"When you think about it Zabuza-san, it's actually pretty obvious. The Seijōtōkyorin is off-limits to all shinigami, despite their rank or their civilian status. The only people allowed in are the members of the Central 46. Aizen probably went here after he pulled off his 'murder', since this is the last place anyone would look for him. I have to say that I'm rather disappointed. I'd expected better from him," the Uzumaki explained away.

"That is very perceptive of you, Naruto-kun," Fugaku commented.

The former head of the Uchiha clan and his wife had a lot respect for the blonde shinigami, especially since he had stopped his youngest son from making a great mistake. During his time in the Soul Society, Fuguka had come to regret the decisions he had made concerning the coup d'état the Uchiha clan attempted. He was so focused on gaining control of Konoha, and he allowed the mysterious masked man to gain so much influence over him, that he didn't look at the bigger picture until it was too late. At the time, he didn't realize that his coup would have not only destroy Konoha and engulf the Land of Fire in war, but he would have lost several of his fellow clansmen including the potential loss of his two sons. After some in the Soul Society, he had decided to join the Gotei 13 as a way of penance.

Minato gave his son a look and immediately knew something was troubling him. On the outside, Naruto appeared to be calm and collected. On the inside however, he was simmering with anger. Minato knew was the cause of Naruto's anger and decided to ask him about it.

"Are you still mad about what happened yesterday?" Minato asked.

"Dad, 'mad' doesn't describe how angry I am right now. And I intend to take out most of my anger on Aizen," Naruto replied as he tried not to let his anger seep into his voice.

What Minato was referring to was the argument he and Ukitake had with Byakuya the previous day…

_**Flashback**_

[6th Division Barracks, Sereitei, Soul Society]

_One Day Earlier…_

Byakuya was currently walking outside the Sixth Division barracks with his usual air of indifference. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard two different sets of footsteps approaching from behind him. He then heard somebody call out his name. He casually turned around to see both Ukitake and Naruto approaching him. Ukitake had a concerned look on his face while Naruto looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Byakuya, the date of Rukia's execution has been moved!" Ukitake yelled

"Yes, it has been moved to tomorrow," Byakuya stated in a calm and collected voice. Ukitake then hesitantly asked his next question.

"W-what are you going to about it?"

"Why should I do anything about it?" he replied uncaringly.

His apathy towards his sister's impeding death shocked Ukitake. Naruto, on the other, growled at this and clenched his fist tightly.

"Are you fucking serious?" Naruto hissed.

"The date has been set. If that is the decision and the order then there's nothing to do but to let it happen. Do not bother me again with such trivial matters," Byakuya said coldly as he began to walk off.

The still shocked Ukitake walked forward and grasped Byakuya's shoulder.

"Now wait just a minute! This isn't some stranger we're talking about; this is your own sister! If nobody does anything about it, she's likely to die!" Ukitake pleaded.

All the stress and excitement proved to be much for the Thirteenth division captain, as he suddenly stepped back and went into another coughing fit. A visibly concerned Naruto rushed over to his Captain's side. He then glared at Byakuya, who gave both of them a distant look.

"You should be careful. You'll only shorten your life, Ukitake. You've already lost one of your officers, I don't think losing another would really matter."

Naruto felt the rise in his anger when Byakuya had callously mentioned Kaien's death as if it were nothing. The only time he felt this angry before was when Neji had assaulted Hinata both physically and psychologically during the Chunin Exam preliminaries.

Byakuya then glanced at Ukitake before he said something that, as those who knew Naruto well, was forbidden territory.

"In any case, Rukia is a member of my house. Whenever she lives or dies is none of your business," Byakuya said coldly as he began to walk away.

Byakuya was forced to stop, however, he felt a hand suddenly grab his shoulder and forced him around. He was now face to face with Naruto, whose teeth were bared and eyes were full of rage.

Before Byakuya could react Naruto grabbed Byakuya by his neck, pushed the captain into wall and then, if his anger wasn't obvious enough, he **punched** him in the gut, clearly getting the noble's attention.

"YOU ARROGANT STUCK UP PIECE OF SHIT! RUKIA IS ONE OF _MY _SUBORDINATES! SHE'S LIKE A SISTER TO ME SO IT'S _MY _CONCERN IF SHE LIVES OR DIES, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" the Uzumaki roared, shocking Ukitake and Byakuya and scaring everyone else to death.

The Sixth Division Captain's eyes widened due to the amount of anger and malice seething through Naruto's voice. Several unseated officers of the Sixth Division all got ready to draw their zanpakutos but Byakuya, in either shock or fear, motioned them to stand down.

"Listen and listen well, Byakuya. I'm about to tell you an important lesson that I learned from my sensei back in the Shinobi World. He may not have taught me much, but I hold this lesson close to my heart (he sighs): Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends… are worse than scum. You may be part of the nobility but the way I see it… you're lower than scum. If you won't do anything to save Rukia's life… then I will," Naruto explained.

Naruto then let go of Byakuya and walked away, leaving him to ponder in his thoughts. He helped Ukitake up and together they left the barracks before the Uzumaki decided to try to kill Byakuya...

_**End Flashback**_

[Outside the Central 46 Compound, Seretei, Soul Society]

_Current Time..._

Naruto grimaced at the thought of what happened yesterday. He had had his disagreements with the head of the Kuchiki clan before but as of now he had nothing but hate for him. He broke out of his thoughts and suddenly spoke to his fellow shinobi/shinigami.

"I think we've wasted enough time already. We should get a move on before Aizen figures out that he's been discovered," Naruto warned.

They all nodded and all rushed off into the Compound, all ready to confront the master of deception.

* * *

[Central 46 Compound, Seretei, Soul Society]

_Several minutes later..._

"Freakin' stairs," Naruto muttered as he took in large gulps of air.

He and the rest of the shinobi/shinigami had finally reached the end of the seemingly endless staircase that led deep into the Central 46 Compound and were now trying to catch their breath due to the fact that they had been running.

When they finally neared the assembly hall where the forty sages and six judges that comprised the Central 46 held their meetings, they surprised it at how quiet it was.

As they finally recovered from their panting, Naruto and Minato notice two figures walking out of the assembly hall. They were Retsu Unohana and Isane Kotetsu, the Captain and Lieutenant of the 4th Division. Unohana was a youthful woman with blue eyes and long black hair kept in a large braid in front. She wore a standard shihakusho with a long sleeved Captain's haori. Like Kushina, she wore an obi sash in place of the standard white one. Isane was a young looking woman with gray eyes and long, messy silver hair with shoulder length strands on the right side of her face that were stylized as two thin braids. She also wore a shihakusho with a lieutenant's badge on her left arm and she also had on two red, dangling earrings.

"Captain Unohana, I'm surprised that you're down here," Naruto said as he caught the 4th Division Captain's attention. She and Isane turned to where the shonobi were at and she gave the blonde lieutenant a friendly smile.

"I could say the same thing to you, Naruto-kun. I was surprised that Lieutenant Yuki didn't show up to the execution with Captain Soifon," Unohana said in her usual polite nature. Haku decided to make his presence known and spoke up.

"I told Soifon-sama that I had some business to take care of. She decided on taking Ōmaeda with her instead," Haku explained, cringing at the mention of his subordinate.

Like his Captain and almost everybody else in the 2nd Division, he loathed Marechiyo Ōmaeda for many reasons. He was exceedingly arrogant, cowardly, loud, sluggish, vain, elitist, and was condescending to the poorer members of the Gotei 13. What annoyed both Haku and Soifon was that he claimed his obesity was a sign of his good living and wealth while in reality, it was a sign of overeating, poor dieting, and receiving little to no exercise. Ōmaeda had served as Soifon's lieutenant for some time until Haku had arrived to the Soul Society and joined the Gotei 13. Soifon took an immediate liking to the boy and made him her new lieutenant while she demoted Ōmaeda to the position of 3rd Seated Officer. This was because Haku was a kind soul and had impressed Soifon with his knowledge of poisons and the use of senbon needles. Not to mention that Haku had a shunpo hat rivaled Soifon's and was much faster than Ōmaeda's.

"I heard that that carrot top Ryoka pummeled through that lardass as if he were nothing. I should have been there to see it myself," Zabuza commented.

Every else ignored the former Kiri-nin's comment, though the rest shinobi silently agreed with him, as Minato approached Unohana.

"Unohana-san, we are here because we suspect that Aizen-san is hiding here. My fellow shinobi and I have been suspicious of him ever since we all joined the Gotei 13. Naruto here was the one to convince us to take action."

"I have also been suspicious of Captain Aizen, Minato-san. However, I suspected him of foul play ever since I performed the autopsy on his body."

"Quick question: why isn't the Central 46 active? Are they are break or something?" Naruto asked.

Unohana's expression quickly turned grim as she pointed them to the assembly hall, signaling them to see for themselves. As they approached and entered the assembly hall, they were completely shocked at what they saw. The forty sages and six judges had been slaughtered like cattle, their lifeless and bloodied bodies scattered across the room. This reminded Fugaku and Mikoto of the night of their deaths, were Itachi had murdered their fellow clansmen. For Zabuza, it was an all too familiar sight, as he had killed every other student in his academy class to gain his position as a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Hidden Mist.

Naruto approached one of the bloodstained desk, and ran his finger over the dried blood. A flake of the blood broke off and he grind it into dust with his index finger and thumb. He then turn and made his assessment to everyone present in the room.

"Judging from the dried blood, I say that they've been dead for at least a couple of days," Naruto deduced.

"How is that possible? The Headquarters has been under lockdown ever since Lieutenant Abarai was defeated," Fugaku questioned as he came out of his shock.

Before anybody could answer his question, they all felt a rather large surge in reiatsu coming from the Seiōtōkyorin. The shinobi, Unohana, and Isane all rushed from the assembly hall to Seiōtōkyorin and were surprised at what they saw.

Standing near one of the towers in the room was Sosuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru. Aizen possessed the appearance of a scholar with his wavy brown hair and square glasses. He had a warm look on his face, but Naruto could obviously tell that it was a front. He wore a Shinigami shihakusho with a long sleeved Captain's haori. Gin was anything but normal. He had silver hair with a purple tint. His eyes were narrowed to slits and he had a fox-like grin on his face. He also wore a shihakusho with a sleeveless Captain's haori.

Near Aizen was the collapsed form of Tōshirō Hitsugaya, the Captain of the 10th Division. He was rather short, and could easily be mistaken for a child, with turquoise eyes and short, spiky white hair. It appeared that he had released his zanpakutō, as the area surrounding him was covered in a layer of ice. However, what really took Naruto by surprised was that Momo Hinamori, who had a stab wound in her stomach, was near the entrance of one of the towers, lying in a small puddle of her own blood. This only increased the considerable amount of anger that Naruto had inside him. He knew that Momo admired Aizen and saw him as a father figure. To see that he had stabbed her and tossed her aside like trash would have left her devastated. Minato then decided to break the silence.

"Hello, Aizen-san," he said in his polite manner.

Aizen simply smiled at this.

"I'm surprised that you're still refer to me with an honorific, especially after I just mortally wounded one of your subordinates. However, I find it insulting that you don't address me as Captain."

"Actually, truth be told, my husband and I never saw you as our Captain. We were always suspicious of you," Kushina said as she directed a small amount of killing in Aizen's direction.

Unohana then took her turn to speak.

"Captain Aizen … no, that's wrong. After what I've witnessed it wouldn't be right to call you Captain. You deserve the title of high traitor."

"Well hello, Captain Unohana. I have to admit that your arrival is not completely unexpected. I knew you'd figure out that I was staying here. However, the shinobi arriving here was a surprise."

"It was the only logical explanation. The Seiōtōkyorin was declared completely off-limits to everyone. It was the perfect place to carry out the plans you had in mind. You needed to hide away in complete isolation after you staged your own death with that exquisitely deigned corpse doll. And what better place to hide in the Seretei than in the place we'd least expect to find you. At least, that was your plan, wasn't it?"

The smirk on Aizen's face grew as he secretly admired Unohana's perceptiveness and attention to detail.

"Not quite. The majority of what you said is true, but you did make two mistakes. First of all, I have no need to hide from anyone. That's not why I came here for. And secondly, I-"

"I'll take things from here, Aizen-teme," Naruto said as he interrupted Aizen's grand revelation.

The Fifth Division captain raised an eyebrow at this, as the blonde shinigami began his explanation to Unohana.

"Aizen didn't use a corpse doll, Captain Unohana. He simply used the shikai ability of his zanpakutō, **Kyōka Suigetsu **(Mirror Flower, Water Moon). It's a very powerful Illusion-kidō type zanpakutō. It's shikai ability allows the wielder to control the five senses to the point where it makes a target misinterpret someone else's form, shape, mass, feel, smell, and everything else about it to be that of something else. After seeing the shikai release just once, the person who saw it will be under the illusion as long as they live, or at least until Aizen turns off the hypnosis."

"It's not that much different from a simple genjutsu," Fugaku added as Aizen took all of this in.

On the outside, the traitor kept a cool and calm expression. However, he was panicking on the inside. He had kept the Gotei 13 under an illusion for over a hundred years, and nobody had suspected a thing. However, a teenager with an unhealthy craving for ramen noodles had figured out his zanpakutō's ability with very little effort, and the boy had been in the Soul Society for only three years. Aizen was also angered by that fact that this kid had ruined his grand revelation.

"We've also suspected that Gin and Kaname have been your co-collaborators. Kaname is blind, thus he wouldn't be affected by your hypnosis. As for Gin, I've never fully trusted him," Naruto said as he gave the grinning Captain a distrustful look.

"You've always been shifty to me, you fox-faced bastard!"

"Well, aren't you the pot calling the kettle black," Gin commented, chuckling at how the lieutenant was oblivious to the irony of what he just said. Inside of Naruto's mind, Kurama let out a groan of annoyance while Kaze no Moi snickered to himself.

"That was a very nice explanation, Naruto," Minato commented as he turned towards Aizen.

"I'm sorry Aizen-san, but I'm afraid we'll have to stop you. You're under arrest for the crimes of murdering the members of the Central 46, conspiracy to commit treason, attacking a Captain of the Gotei 13, and obstruction of justice in the case of Rukia Kuchiki," Minato declared.

"Actually, I don't think I'll be having a trial at all," Aizen said as he pointed his right index and middle finger at the group. Suddenly, blue spiritual energy started to generate around his two fingers.

"**Hado #73: Sōren Sōkatsui **(Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down)," Aizen said as he made a pushing motion with both of his palms. Two torrents of blue energy came at the shinobi. However, Haku had taken the initiative and drew his zanpakuto out, a tantō with a sky blue hilt and a tsuba shaped like a snowflake. He then said its release command.

"**Freeze, Yukinokesshō **(Snow Crystal)," Haku yelled as a white-blue energy enveloped the tantō and expanded. When it ended, it now took on the form of a kodachi with a blade that appeared to be made out of ice. Haku then made a horizontal slash at the air as he called out one of his zanpakutō's abilities.

"**Aisushīrudo **(Ice Shield)!"

Suddenly, a thick layer of frost appeared on the ground in front of them. The frost then shot up and took the form of a large wall of ice. It was sturdy enough to block Aizen's powerful Kido spell. When the spell dispersed, both Isane and Zabuza rushed towards the two traitors with their blades drawn. However, they now saw that Gin was kneeling on the ground, with an extremely long white strip of cloth coming from his sleeve. Said strip was spinning around him and Aizen like a cyclone.

"**Sentan Hakuja **(Thousand-Coil White Snake)," Gin said as the strip tightened and the two captains disappeared. Zabuza cursed under his breath and slammed his fist into one of the walls. Unohana approached Tōshirō's body and began to examine it.

"He's still alive, but he is barely hanging on. I'll need to perform emergency surgery on him immediately if he is to survive. Mikoto-san, please assist me in the procedure. Isane, I need you to inform all Captains, Lieutenants, and seated officers of the Gotei 13 along with the Ryoka about Aizen's treachery."

Both women nodded, as Mikoto ran over to help her, as she was very skilled with healing Kidos, with Tōshirō while Isane began the incantation for a Kidō spell called **Tenteikūra **(Heavenly Rickshaws in Silken Air). Naruto faced his father and began to speak.

"Dad, I have feeling that Aizen is at currently at Sōkyoku Hill. I'm going to get a head start and try to stop him. Meet me there when you're done here," Naruto said as Minato gave his son a small nod. He felt a bit concern about his son rushing off into battle, but he knew Naruto was more than capable of handling Aizen.

"Alright, but just be careful. I don't know how Kushina would react if Aizen harmed you," Minato chided, knowing how his wife's temper was when it came to anything happening to their son.

Naruto flashed Minato a smile before he exited the Seiōtōkyorin and ran up the excessively long flight of stairs. Once he had exited the Compound, he suddenly stopped. He then unsheathed his zanpakutō and held it in front of him in a two-handed grip. He had been itching to try out one of his bankai abilities, and he decided that now would be a great time to use one of them.

"Bankai!" he yelled out as he was engulfed in a large column of orange reiatsu, which was accompanied by a large gust of wind.

When the column and wind dissipated, Naruto had undergone a slight change. His hair was longer and a bit shaggier, and it now ended at the back of his neck. He now wore the haori and mesh undershirt that Kaze no Moi wore, along with a pair of black arm guards and black fingerless gloves. In his right hand, he held the straight blade katana that Kaze used during his bankai training.

"**Tōzai-Fū** **no** **Mōi **(Fury of the Four Cardinal Winds)," Naruto said as he began to channel wind through the katana's blade. The wind then moved from the blade and began to cover his entire body. This was one of his Bankai abilities, **Senpū Supurinto **(Whirlwind Sprint). This allowed him to accelerate at high velocities, allowing him to move as fast as the wind.

With his wind-enhanced speed, Naruto then made a mad dash to Sōkyoku Hill, intending on stopping Aizen from escaping and hurting his friends even further...

Next Time - Clash: Naruto vs Aizen


	4. Clash: Naruto vs Aizen

**Chapter 4 – Clash: Naruto vs Aizen**

A/N: My story has now reached over 100 faves/follows. Thank you for your continued support.

Please keep sending faves, follows, and reviews. If you send me more reviews, I'll be more motivated to write the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Still Applies

[Sōkyoku Hill, Seretei, Soul Society]

_Current Time…_

When Naruto finally arrived at the base of Sōkyoku Hill, he deactivated his Senpū Supurinto and started running at the fastest pace he could run. When he finally got there, he momentarily stopped and surveyed the damage. Both Renji and Ichigo were there; both of them were on the floor and neither of them were in good shape. Renji's right arm had several lacerations on it and he had a large gash on his left shoulder. Ichigo had a puncture wound on his right shoulder blade, a vertical cut on each of his shoulders, and he had a large cut on his midriff. Naruto also noticed the change in Ichigo's attire and weapon. A long-sleeved, ankle length black coat with red lining replaced his shihakusho. It closed up at his chest and the hemline of the coat was ragged. In his right hand was a pure black daitō sword. The cross guard had four prongs bent out in the shape of a manji and a broken off chain was attached to the base of the hilt. From both the appearance of his blade, along with attire, Naruto assumed that this was Ichigo's bankai.

What Naruto saw next left him in complete shock. Byakuya, of all people, was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. He had a stab wound on his torso, and blood stained his Captain's haori. Standing next to him was Rukia, who was visibly concerned about the well-being of her adoptive brother/brother in law. It didn't take Naruto even three minutes to realize that the Byakuya had taken an attack that was meant for Rukia. Deep down inside, Naruto was relieved that the seemingly cold and aloof Sixth Division actually did care for his adopted sister, despite that fact that he didn't do anything to stop Rukia's execution.

As Naruto took note of six other people on the hill, but whose appearances could not be discerned by Naruto as Tosen and Gin blocked his view of them, he heard Renji speaking to him.

"Naruto … what are you doing here?" Renji asked in a strained and weak voice.

Naruto turned his attention to Renji, who looked like he was using all of his strength just to ask him this question.

"I'm here to stop Aizen and his two lackeys… and to thank you for stopping Rukia's execution," Naruto said only for Renji to shake his head at this.

"No, you shouldn't thank me. You… you should thank Ichigo," Renji panted out before he collapsed from his wounds, but not before silently praying that Naruto would survive his fight with the traitor.

The blond shinigami now turned his attention to the three traitors, and his anger flared when he saw them.

Aizen was standing there along with Gin and Kaname Tōsen, the now former Captain of the Ninth Division. Kaname was a man with black skin as well black hair that he had braided as well as tied into a ponytail. He wore a shihakusho with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, and it was tied with a purple obi sash. He also had on black, fingerless gloves, an orange scarf, and he had on a visor, which hid his featureless eyes. Naruto then noticed a certain object that Aizen was holding in his hand. It appeared to be a bluish-purple orb with a translucent, lavender colored shell covering it. Aizen looked over Naruto's new look before finally speaking.

"So you have achieved bankai? If I didn't know any better it looks like it's just a small upgrade to your shikai. But I'm not the person who judges people on appearances, Uzumaki-kun."

Naruto ignored Aizen's commented and glared at him with eyes filled with anger, hatred, and malevolence. His gaze seemed to pierce through Aizen and, to the surprise of the traitor, it made him feel very uneasy. Naruto finally broke the silence in a hostile voice obviously full of venom.

"You threw the Seretei into chaos, set everyone against each other, nearly got Renji and a lot of other people killed, and tried to have Rukia-chan executed… for a fucking marble?!" Naruto hissed to which Aizen responded by letting out a low chuckle as he held up the orb in his hand.

"This is not a mere marble, Uzumaki-kun. This is a device known as the Hōgyoku. I won't explain how but it allows those who possess it to dissolve the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollows, allowing one race to gain the powers of the other. With this, I shall raise an army of perfected Arrancar, overthrow the Soul Society, and crush the Seireitei like an ant under a boot," Aizen explained.

"I'm not letting you continue any further with your plans, Aizen. I _will _kill you if I hav- no, scratch that, I'm going to kill you right here regardless of whether or not I have to do so," Naruto said as he got into a fighting stance, gripping both of his hands on Tōzai-Fū no Mōi.

"Shall I take care of the little punk, Aizen-sama?" Gin asked as he grasped the hilt of his Zanpakuto.

"No Gin, I shall take care of him myself," Aizen said as he stepped forward. Kaname then placed a hand on Aizen's shoulder, which caused the former captain to stop in tracks for the moment.

"You should be careful, Aizen-sama. From what I have heard from his father, Fugaku-san, and Ukitake this boy is very powerful and skilled. Don't take him lightly." the blind swordsman warned; Aizen, being as full of himself as he was, paid no heed to Tosen's concerns.

"There is no need to fret, Kaname. He may have been able to unravel my plan and discover the shikai ability of my zanpakuto, but he has no chance of defeating the complete hypnosis."

Aizen then continued walking forward until he was a few feet in front of his opponent, his smirk still plastered on his face.

"Before we fight, Uzumaki-kun, I have something to ask you; how were you able to see through my 'mask' when everyone else in the Seireitei could not?" Aizen asked his opponent.

Naruto sighed before he gave Aizen his explanation.

"When I was alive, the people of my village resented me. They gave me hate filled glares and ugly looks. Parents even told their children to stay away from me and not to play with me. Thus, I would sometimes create a false mask of happiness as a way of dealing with all of the sadness, depression, and loneliness that filled my life and because of that I'm able to tell when someone else is being sincere or not based on their expressions. That's how I was able to see through your act."

"I see… in any case before I beat you and leave you clinging to life, Uzumaki-kun, I shall show my true self," Aizen declared.

Aizen then took off his glasses and crushed them in his hand. He then ran his other hand through his hair, revealing a completely new look. He now had menacing eyes and his hair was swept back, with a single strand hanging down his face. Naruto just smirked at this.

"Oooo… you swept your hair back and removed your glasses to reveal a fucking fashion model; I'm so terrified. I didn't think that it was possible, but you look even smugger than before." he taunted.

Aizen's left eye brow began to twitch, indicating that he was finally losing his patient with the blond lieutenant. He proceeded to draw out his zanpakuto and held it in front of him.

"**Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu **(Mirror Flower, Water Moon)."

With that, Aizen's shikai was released. While it appeared that Aizen was still standing in front of his opponent, he had actually moved back a few yards. Naruto smirked as he contacted the tailed beast inside of him.

"_Kurama! Hey, Kurama! Wake up!" _he mentally shouted.

The giant fox was currently inside of his cage, taking a nap. He groggily opened his eyes when he heard the voice of his container.

"_What do you want? In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to sleep,_" he said in an irritated tone.

"_You're always trying to sleep," _Kaze no Moi said in a deadpanned manner, hoping to get a reaction out of the Tailed Beast.

"_Kaze, there's a time and a place for everything. THE SITUATION RIGHT NOW IS NOT ONE OF THOSE!" _Naruto shouted at his zanpakuto spirit before returning his attention to his other tenant.

"_I need you to give me your reiatsu," _Naruto said. Kurama then did a facepalm in response to his container's request.

"_You don't need to ask me for my reiatsu. You're fully capable of accessing it. Just concentrate and it'll come. The only time you need to wake me up is if you plan to meld my energy with yours; otherwise do not disturb me in my sleep, Naruto,"_

"_Oh … thanks anyway, Kurama," _Naruto said sheepishly as he exited his mindscape.

* * *

OST:

"Number One (Instrumental)" (from Bleach) (link: www. youtube .com watch?v=dsxNuOGkxC4)

(Add a slash symbol after the .com part and don't forget to backspace the open spaces).

* * *

Suddenly, Naruto was enveloped in a shroud of reiatsu that took the appearnce of flickering yellow flames. He now appeared to wear a necklace made of magatama beads around his neck, with a larger magatama bead on his stomach. The circle of the larger bead appeared to have a spiral pattern. In addition, his hair had two horn like extensions at the front and the color of his eyes had changed from blue to orange. (A/N: Naruto has just used the Nine-Tails [Kyuubi] Chakra Mode. In my story, I'll be using the abbreviation of KCM when I write about it outside of dialogue).

The reiatsu shroud that Naruto had used increased his speed, strength, and the power of his Kidō spells.

Naruto then flash stepped away from the illusion and right in front of the real Aizen, shocking him. Before he could react, Naruto delivered a powerful haymaker to Aizen's face. The traitor, along with everyone else, stumbled back and stared at the blonde shinigami.

"I have news for you Aizen: I have a way of countering your shikai. And don't bothering asking me how I did because I'm not telling you," Naruto taunted; he hadn't revealed Kurama's Tailed Beast skills, such as the ability to detect negative emotions. This worked perfectly against Aizen's Illusion type zanpakuto..

Naruto, as if he was trying to provoke Aizen, then proceeded to give him the finger.

To the surprise of everyone else on that hill Aizen's face contorted in anger as he started to growl; Aizen never made showed any outwards expressions of anger before and yet Naruto succeeded in forcing one out of him in less than a few minutes.

"Don't get too arrogant, you fool!" Aizen shouted as he attempted to slash him with his zanpakuto. To his surprise, Naruto blocked the attack with two of fingers. Aizen had ironically blocked one of Ichigo's attacks the same way a few moments earlier. Naruto then pushed the blade away from him and then pointed his left index finger at Aizen.

"**Hadō #1: Shō **(Thrust)," Naruto said as his finger generated a force that pushed Aizen back. He then charged forward at him with his straight-blade katana in a two-handed grip. Naruto delivered a vertical strike at Aizen, who barely able to block with his own sword. Naruto delivered an onslaught of sword strikes, which was blocked. However, Naruto was relentless in his barrage and didn't give Aizen time to counter.

Naruto then suddenly stopped his assault and jumped a bit into the air. He then delivered a butterfly kick to Aizen's face. Sheathing his sword into his sash, Naruto began to deliver a barrage of punches to Aizen's face and torso. The force of the two kicks and barrage of punches stunned Aizen. Naruto pulled his right hand back as he prepared for his next attack.

"THIS IS FOR RUKIA!" he roared as he delivered a jab to Aizen's face. He then followed up with a left cross, also delivered to his face. The sound of bones crunching could be heard as Naruto's jab connected.

Aizen clutched his now broken and bleeding nose with his free hand as he held on to his zanpakuto. He then swung his sword at Naruto, who blocked each attack with Tōzai-Fū no Mōi. Naruto parried the attack and countered with two diagonal slashes across Aizen's chest. He then struck Aizen with a powerful roundhouse kick to the stomach. The force of said kick was so powerful that it sent the traitor flying back into a tree.

Naruto cautiously approached the defeated traitor. He pointed his katana at Aizen, with the tip of the blade millimeters from his throat.

"It's over, Aizen," he said coldly as he focused his killing intent on him.

* * *

End OST Scene

* * *

Much to his surprise, Aizen just smiled as he gave a small chuckle.

"No, Uzumaki-kun. This is only the beginning."

With that, three rectangular shaped black portals opened up in the sky above them. Naruto's eyes widen in shock when he saw what was coming out of the portals. They were Gillian class hollows, recognizable by their white masks with elongated noses. Several Adjuchas and low level hollows also accompanied them. A golden, square shaped beam of light suddenly engulfed Aizen, and he slowly began to drift upwards. Two more beams of light appeared where Gin and Kaname were. Aizen, still clutching his broken nose, looked down at Naruto.

"Until we meet again, Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki."

Naruto gave out a low growl, but his attention elsewhere as he now had to deal with the very large swarm of hollows. He was suddenly attacked by a Adjuchas hollow that vaguely resembled a tiger. The hollow tiger tried to slash at Naruto with its claws, but he used his shunpo to get some distance between them. He then held out his palm, aimed at the tiger hollow's head.

"**Hado #31: Shakkahō **(Red Fire Cannon)," Naruto said as a red orb of energy generated in front of him. He then discharged the orb, which took the form of a small pillar of red energy. The spell took the hollow's head clean off, and its body began to dissipate.

However, Naruto had now gained the attention of a Gillian, who started to lumber towards him. Naruto faced the direction of the hollow, holding Tōzai-Fū no Mōi with both hands. Orange reiatsu soon covered the blade, which was subsequently overlapped by a small cyclone.

"**Kazekama **(Wind Sickle)!" Naruto yelled out as he as he slashed at the air. The reiatsu flied forward, and it soon took the form of a crescent surrounded by a "shell" of wind. The crescent went straight through the Gillian, cutting it in half. It let out a shriek of pain as its body began to break down.

Naruto got into another battle stance when suddenly, something rushed pass him. It was Zabuza, who had an eager grin on his face. He held his zanpakuto in his right hand, despite the large size it possessed. He ran up towards an Adjuchas who resembled a frilled lizard, bring his hand back.

"**Tesshō **(Iron Palm)," he yelled out as he hit the hollow's mask with an open palm strike. The force of the blow effortlessly shattered the mask, and the hollow soon dissipated. Naruto looked shocked for a bit before he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"You seem to be having fun, son."

Nauto turned and there stood Minato with the rest of the shinobi (with the exception of Mikoto). In his hands was the shikai of his zanpakuto, **Hiraishin **(Flying Thunder God). It took the form of a pair of tri-pronged kunai. They were three times larger than an average kunai. The handles were white while the blades were silver. Minato extended his hand and helped Naruto up.

"I take it you weren't able to stop Aizen from escaping?"

"No. A few Gillians used **Negación **(Counter Membrane) on him, Gin, and Kaname. And he left behind an entire swarm of hollows as a 'parting gift'."

"Don't worry, Naruto. You did your best, and you were able to take away Aizen's pride. Now, let's take care of this mess."

With that, Minato flashstepped in front of a Hollow, He then slashed it across the mask diagonally with both kunai. He then flashstepped to another and did the same. This was Minato's fighting style, relying on his use of shunpo to quickly attack his enemies.

Zabuza now held out his zanpakuto out in front of him with both hands grasped on it. He then yelled out its release command.

"**Annihilate, Kirioni **(Mist Demon)!"

A white-blue light covered the sword as it began expanding until it suddenly stopped. Kirioni's shikai took the form of a zanbato that resembled the Executioner's Blade that Zabuza used in his previous life. The zanbato had a four and a half foot blade with a foot high hilt. The blade was colored dull gray while the hilt was black with dark blue hilt wrappings. Engraved on the blade near the hilt was the Kanji for "water" on either side. Zabuza lifted the giant sword with both hands and rushed out into battle.

Kushina and Fugaku also unsheathed their zanpakutos, but neither released their shikai. Haku, on the other hand, already had his shikai released. Naruto got back into his fighting position. He then flashstepped in front of a mantis-like hollow and cut off its head with one sweep motion. He then built up reiatsu in his blade and launched another Kazekama. The wave of reiatsu went flying and cut through three Gillians in succession. He then concentrated until two arms made of reiatsu sprouted from his shoulders. The arms proceeded to grab two Adjuchas and smashed them together.

Zabuza was ruthless in battle as he sliced through hollows with his zanbato. He truly lived up to his moniker of "the Demon of the Hidden Mist". Kushina fought off the Hollows with a combination of mid to high-level Kido spells and the use of her sealed zanpakuto.

In a matter of minutes, the entire swarm had been neutralized. Naruto approached the ground, breathing heavily as his reiatsu cloak dissipated. He had purposely landed near Ichigo, who was shocked by what he had seen. Aizen had effortlessly defeated him and Renji without even breaking a sweat, while this blonde shinigami was able to effortlessly pummel through him, and still have enough energy left to take on an entire swarm of Hollows. Naruto looked down at the orange-haired teenager as he gave a weak smile.

"Hey (pant), you're Ichigo, right?"

"I am. We met at the Senzaikyū a few days back. I didn't get your name, though."

"Well, I'm Naruto (pant) Namikaze-Uzumaki, lieutenant of the (pant) 13th Division. I … I want to thank you for having the gall to break into the Seretei just to save Rukia."

With that, Naruto passed out on the ground, completely and utterly exhausted. He had a smile on his face, as he had been able to take Aizen down a peg or two, and had properly met the de facto leader of the Ryoka. Soon, both Minato and Kushina arrived with the officers of the 4th Division to give their son medical attention. Ichigo looked on as Orihime and the rest of his friends got up and rushed to his side.

Next Time - Promotions


	5. Promotions

**Chapter 5 – Promotions**

Disclaimer: Still Applies

[Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_One Week after Sōsuke Aizen's defection…_

Things had more or less returned to normal in the week after Aizen's defection. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had taken on the duties of the now inoperative Central 46. Soifon had now reconciled with Yoruichi, her mentor, and had made amends with her. As for the Ryoka, they stayed and hanged out in the Seretei. Minato had gotten to know Yoruichi very well, and admired her mastery of Shunpo. Likewise, Yoruichi was impressed was Minato's advanced skill in Shunpo. Turns out the two were evenly matched in Shunpo, much to Soifon's horror.

As for Naruto, he had spent the week recovering in the 4th Division's Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho. While he had not suffered any injuries, he had been completely exhausted and needed extensive recuperation. Captain Unohana also wanted to keep him to see if the simultaneous use of his bankai and Kurama's reiatsu shroud had any adverse effects on his body. Over the course of the week, he had received many visitors. His parents had visited him, and Kushina had fussed over him, making sure that her son was getting enough sleep and eating right. Captain Ukitake had paid him a visit, and gave him a large amount of candy as a "get well soon" gift. Lastly, Kenpachi and his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, had visited him. Kenpachi made the blond Lieutenant to promise to fight him as soon as he was fully recovered, which Naruto reluctantly did. Yachiru happily ate the candy and told Naruto that she wanted to show him the secret tunnels she had made under "Byakushi's" (her nickname for Byakuya) house.

Naruto was now resting in his hospital room, reading a copy of _Seireitei Communication _magazine, specifically Ukitake's _Rejection of the Twin Fish _serial. There was knock at his door and two people came in. The first was a cute nurse with chestnut brown hair, carrying a tray of food. Like all nurses working in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho, she wore a pink variation of the shihakushō with a pink hat. The other person was Captain Unohana, who gave the 13th Division lieutenant a warm smile.

"Good day, Naruto-kun. How are you today?" she asked as the nurse set the food in front of Naruto.

"I'm doing fine, Captain. A bit bored though," Naruto said as he began to eat his lunch, which consisted of beef curry over white rice. Among the other changes that he had went through, Naruto was no longer a picky eater, and had extended his diet to various other foods (although ramen remained his favorite food).

"I have some news for you, Naruto-kun. I have come up with a diagnosis of your exhaustion."

"Really? Then by all means, please continue," Naruto said with a mouthful of food.

"From what I have observed, your bankai and your reiatsu shroud offer you an immense increase in power. However, using them together leaves considerable strain on your body. If you use them together continuously, it would leave you seriously wounded, or it could possibly even kill you."

"Then I'll just use the combination when I'm facing somebody really powerful, or as a last resort," Naruto said as he got up and stretched. He was about to leave the room when Unohana suddenly stopped him.

"Where are you going, Naruto-kun?"

"I'm going back to my barracks. Captain Ukitake isn't well enough to look after division himself, plus Sentarō and Kiyone aren't confident enough to lead it."

"Naruto-kun, I suggest that you stay here for a little while longer."

"That's okay, Captain. I've already gotten plenty of rest and-"

"Please, I insist," Unohana said softly as she closed her eyes and smiled. Naruto now felt a sense of foreboding as he broke out into a cold sweat, completely petrified.

He tried to say something, but he found the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. Despite her polite and gentle nature, several members of the Gotei 13 (most notably the unseated officers of the 11th Division) were scared of Unohana and did their best not to get on her bad side. The only person who wasn't afraid of Unohana was Kushina.

"I-I'll just stay here if that's okay with you," Naruto said meekly as he sat back down on his bed. He was currently thinking how somebody so kind could also be so scary. Unohana smiled as she left the room.

"Alright. I'll come back to check on you in half an hour," she said as she left.

_30 Minutes Later…_

Unohana was just coming back to check up on the 13th Division Lieutenant. As she walked into his room, she was surprised at what she saw. Naruto was gone, along with his uniform, his personal effects, and his zanpakutō. She walked out of the room and stopped a passing Hanatarō Yamada.

"Hanatarō, do you know what happened to Naruto-kun?"

"Uh… Lieutenant Uzumaki left about five minutes after you walked out of his room, Captain," Hanatarō replied nervously.

"Well, that's the 20th time in this year alone that Naruto-kun has done this," Unohana said as she walked away, before musing to herself.

"I should consider using high level Bakudō spells to restrain him if this continues to happen."

Like Tsunade before he,r Unohana found out that Naruto was not one to stay immobile for long and she would probably have to solve this problem the hard way...

* * *

[Byakuya's Room, Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_Meanwhile…_

After Naruto had left his room, he had searched the entire Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho for Byakuya (and being very careful to avoid being found by Unohana or Isane). After some time, he had finally found Byakuya's room, and was surprised to find Renji there. He was sitting on a chair, apparently carving a wooden block. Byakuya was sitting up straight in his bed, blankly staring at a wall. Byakuya then finally decided to break the awkward silence.

"Lieutenant Uzumaki, what are you doing here? I thought that you hated me."

Naruto sighed as he began to ask his question.

"To be honest, I currently have mixed feelings about you, Byakuya. When I arrived at Sōkyoku Hill, I saw that you took an attack that was meant for Rukia. Why did you choose to interfere there when you did _nothing _to stop Rukia's execution?"

The lieutenant's words hit Byakuya hard as he looked up at Naruto. He then looked back at the wall.

"I know I have some explaining to do. I should begin at the time I got married. Approximately fifty-five years ago, I married a woman named Hisana, who was a commoner from the Inuzuri district of the Rukongai. My parents were disappointed that I broke the law by accepting a commoner into the noble Kuchiki clan. Five years after we married, she contracted an illness and was near death. Her final wish was for me to find and adopt her younger sister Rukia, who she abandoned as an infant. She told me not to tell her that she was her sister, as she considered herself to be unworthy. One year later, I found and adopted Rukia, and respected my late-wife's final wish. However, I had again broken the law. Some time after my parents had died, I swore on their graves to uphold the law, no matter what. When Rukia was sentenced to be executed, I did not know what to do. I was stuck between a promise to my parents to uphold the law, and a promise to my wife to protect her sister. However, the punch you delivered to me along with the lecture made me start to rethink the actions I had made. And my defeat at the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki made me realize that the law is not perfect. If it had not been for the both of you, I don't think Hisana would ever be able to forgive me. Both of you have my gratitude."

Naruto just stood there as he let all of what he heard sink in. The person before him was a far cry from the Byakuya Kuchiki that he knew. Instead of the cold, aloof, and uncaring Captain, the man in front of him was a conflicted person who was struggling on the inside. He was now looking at the Sixth Division Captain in a whole new light.

Renji, who was equally taken aback by this revelation, looked up at his captain. He than began to speak.

"Captain Kuchiki, I …"

However, before Renji could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the sound of rushing footsteps, which were strangely coming from the direction of Byakuya's window.

"_**RENJI!" **_Ichigo shouted as he stuck his upper torso into the window. This took everyone by surprise, including the normally stoic Byakuya. Renji, who was now pissed off, started to literally butt heads with Ichigo.

"Ichigo, what the hell? How dare interrupt us! I was about to say something _really _cool to Captain Kuchiki and _you _had to ruin it!"

"Oh, sorry," Ichigo said as he sheepishly backed down. "Hey, do any of you guys know where Rukia went? She isn't in her quarters."

"What? You better not have lost her again," Renji said sternly as Naruto instinctively grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto.

"No, I just thought you might know," Ichigo said as he raised his arms in defense.

"Kurosaki-kun, don't you know it's dangerous to climb up to a third story window?" a cheerful voice said as a teenaged girl with burnt orange hair climbed up and perched herself besides Ichigo. This girl was Orihime Inoue, one of the Ryoka, who the rest of the Gotei 13 got to know during the week. Everyone in the room was shocked by the fact that Orihime was able to climb to the top with relative ease.

"Yeah, but how did you get up here?" Ichigo asked in utter confusion. He then turned to everyone in Byakuya's room.

"We'll be going now." He said before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw that Naruto was looking at him.

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Sure, but … why?"

"From what Rukia told me, you're a lot like me, and I would like to know more about you. Plus I'm getting sick of hanging around this place."

"Fair enough. Anyway, see you later Renji, Byakuya."

The two Ryoka, now joined by the blonde lieutenant, left the hospital room as Renji looked on.

"What the hell are they up to?" he muttered to himself. He then noticed that Byakuya appeared to be thinking.

"Hm? What's wrong, Captain?"

"Well, it's just that … I certainly hope this Ichigo doesn't intend to keep referring me without an honorific. I find his lack of respect … disturbing. He's even ruder than Lieutenant Uzumaki."

* * *

[Shiba Clan Residence, Rukongai, Soul Society]

_A few hours later…_

After some time searching, the three teenagers finally found Rukia near the Shiba Clan Residence. She was currently wearing a dark purple kimono with a dark yellow obi sash. Rukia was currently talking with Kukaku Shiba, the matriarch of the Shiba clan. Kukaku was a youthful looking woman with green eyes and messy black hair that parted in half at the small of her back. She wore a white skirt and red robes that showed off her ample bosom. For some reason, she wore bandages over her hair, around her right shoulder, and both ankles. Kukaku was missing her right arm, and wore a prosthetic in its place.

"Aha! I thought I'd find you here!" Ichigo said as he approached Rukia. Rukia then turned around and saw her two friends and superior.

"Ichigo, Orihime! Naruto!" Rukia said surprised. Before Naruto could even say hi to his friend/subordinate, Ichigo bluntly continued on.

"Sorry to interrupt your little chat, but right now we should probably head back and get some rest for tomorrow. In the morning they're going to open a gate that'll let us return to our world. And you're still not back to full health."

Rukia, turned back and sighed, as if she was struggling to say something.

"I have to tell you something … it's only right that you be the first to know. I've decided, Ichigo … to stay here, in the Soul Society."

Surprisingly, Ichigo didn't object to this. Instead, a small smile appeared, replacing his usual scowl.

"Well, that's fine. Good for you. It sounds like you've made up your mind. And there's not much else to say. If you decided that you want to stay, then that's what you should do."

Naruto also gave a smile of contentment as he stood next to Orihime. He knew that Rukia and Ichigo had become close friends in the time she had been missing. He knew that they would miss each other, but he was also glad that he had his friend back. He was suddenly broken out of his thoughts when Kukaku appeared in front of Ichigo with a fist raised.

"Ichigo, you've finally showed up, huh?"

"Well, I uh-"

"Hello again, Kukaku!" Orihime said cheerfully as she waved to the Shiba clan matriarch.

"So you're checking out in the morning, huh? Then stay and have dinner with us, tonight!" Kukaku said, with her tone changing from aggressive to a rather ecstatic one. Ichigo was now stumbling on his words as he tried to come up with an excuse.

"Thanks, I would, but I don't know if I can-"

Ichigo was suddenly cut off as Kukaku's fist landed on his face.

"Not this again. The correct answer is 'Yes, I'd love to stay.'"

"You know, I'd think dinner tonight would be great," Ichigo said as he grasped his now bleeding nose. Naruto snickered to himself until he found Kukaku right in front of him.

"So you're the brat the replaced Kaien, huh?" she said looked the blonde shinigami over. She had to admit that the kid did look a bit like Kaein, except for the blonde hair and whisker marks, and that his facial features were rounder. When she finished inspecting him, she was annoyed to find out that Naruto's attention was currently focused on her breasts (which in his opinion, rivaled both Tsunade's and Rangiku's in size). Kukaku broke him out of his trance by punching him in the face.

"You little pervert! That's awfully rude, you know! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"I raised myself for the majority of my life, and I met my mother only three years ago!" Naruto exclaimed as he held his now bleeding nose.

"In any case, stay and have dinner. From what I've heard from Ukitake, you're a lot like Kaien," Kukaku said as she led the two Ryoka and two Shinigami inside of her house.

_A few hours later…_

"… And that's the story of my past life and present life so far," Naruto said as he took another bite out of his food. Ichigo and Orihime sat across from him while Rukia sat next to him. Ichigo was at a lost for words at what he heard, while Orihime's eyes were watering. Before Naruto could react, Orihime reached out and hugged the young lieutenant. Naruto blushed a bit, as he never had a girl of his own age give him this kind of contact (unless it involved getting hit by Sakura).

"Uhh… thank you, Orihime-chan," Naruto said awkwardly as he patted the busty teenager on the back.

Ichigo broke out of his daze and made his opinion heard.

"Well, Naruto, I have to say that your childhood … well, its sounds like it sucked."

"Actually, it could have been much worse. I could have been beaten, be used for target or jutsu practice, or have my food poisoned. But any physical pain that I could have suffered could never compare the loneliness and sadness I faced."

"I'm surprised that you don't hold any resentment towards your village for the way they treated you," Orihime said as she let Naruto out of her hug.

"Actually Orihime, for the longest time, I did hate them. I wanted to get revenge on them and have them feel the pain they dealt to me. But that was until I found my precious people."

"Precious people?"

"They're the people who I've formed bonds with and who I want to protect, like Iruka-sensei, Kaskshi-sensei, my teammates on Team 7, and the rest of my graduating class."

"What surprises me is that you got yourself killed trying to save this Sasuke guy," Ichigo said. From what Naruto had told him, Sasuke sounded a lot like Uryū, except he was arrogant, cold, and obsessive.

"Ichigo, I gave my life to save Sasuke for two reasons. First off, I promised a friend that I would bring him back, and I never go back on my word. Secondly, I considered Sasuke to be a friend despite the way he treated me. I wanted to be his friend because I knew what it was like to be alone. However, I was jealous of his skills and talent, so I decided to become his rival, so I could prove that I could be his equal. But over time, we become like brothers. Even after he left Konoha, I still considered him my friend, and I was hell-bent on stopping him from going to that sick bastard Orochimaru."

Ichigo looked back at Naruto a bit stunned. He could see that he and Naruto were similar in a lot of ways. They both were determined to protect the people that were close to them, and both risked life and limb to save a friend.

Naruto looked outside of the house's windows and saw that it was pretty late. He then got up, and stretched a bit before speaking.

"I don't mean to be a party pooper, but it's getting kind of late, and we all have a big day tomorrow. I'm going back to my barracks to get some sleep."

Naruto then headed towards the exit, but suddenly stopped when he was near the doorframe. He turned towards Kukaku and gave her a small smile.

"Thank you for the meal, Kukaku. I hope to speak to you again soon."

Kukaku, who was currently smoking her kiseru pipe, give him a nod as a sign of acknowledgement. Naruto then walked out of the house and headed off towards the Seretei.

* * *

[Sōkyoku Hill, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_The Next Day_

Naruto, along with many of the Gotei 13 Captains and the shinobi, had arrived at Sōkyoku Hill to see the Ryoka off. Ukitake had explained to the group that the gate they were about to enter was the official Senkaimon, which incorporated a reishi henkanki that would convert their spiritual bodies back into human form once they had reached the world of the living. Ukitake also presented Ichigo with a Substitute Shinigami badge as a token of gratitude. It would officially identify him as a Substitute Shinigami and it would allow his soul to leave his body. After thanking Ukitake, Ichigo walked over to Naruto with a small smirk on his face.

"Well … looks like this is it for now."

"Don't worry, I have a feeling that we'll be seeing each other really soon. I hope I get to know more about you, Ichigo."

"Likewise," Ichigo said as he extended his fist, and Naruto promptly fist-bumped it. He then walked towards the Senkaimon with his friends, before turning around and facing Rukia.

"Well, see you around, Rukia."

"Yeah … thank you, Ichigo."

Ichigo and the rest of the Ryoka walked into the Senkaimon, and they suddenly disappeared in a bright flash of light. Naruto then approached Rukia, who had a sad look in her eyes.

"You sad that he's finally gone, Rukia-chan?"

"Yes I am," Rukia said as she looked down at the ground. Naruto gave her a warm smile as he patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, he'll be back soon. We'll need all the help we can get in the fight against Aizen."

Naruto looked down near the ground and saw an object near his feet. It was a small black cage that contained a hell butterfly, a creature that guided the shinigami through the Senkaimon.

"Huh. Looks like I forgot to give them their Hell Butterfly. But I'm sure they'll be fine," Naruto noted absentmindedly as he headed back towards his barracks.

* * *

[The Dangai]

_Meanwhile…_

"WHAT THE HELL, YORUCHI?! IF THIS IS THE OFFICIAL GATE, THEN WHY DO WE HAVE TO RUN FOR OUR LIFES JUST LIKE THE LAST TIME?" Ichigo yelled as the Kōtotsu, the "street-sweeper" of the Dangai, was currently chasing him and his friends.

"We need a Hell Butterfly to clear the gate safely. We were supposed to be given one, but some idiot must have forgotten to," Yoruichi (who was currently back in her cat form) said as the group of teenagers narrowly made it to the exit … only to find themselves in the skies above Karakura Town.

* * *

[Captain's Assembly Hall, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_Three Days Later…_

A meeting was currently being held with the remaining Captains on what to do about Aizen's betrayal. The current topic they were discussing was who would become the new Captains of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth Division. It was unanimously decided that Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha would become the captains of the Fifth and Ninth Divisions respectively, since both of them had experience in leadership positions before. They were now discussing potential candidates for the Third Division Captain position such as Shūsuke Amagai, who was a high-ranking member of the Omnitsukidō. Ukitake then decided to voice his opinion.

"I would like to nominate my lieutenant, Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, as the Captain of the Third Division. I know he may be brash and a bit young, but he has proven himself to be a capable leader. During the Ryoka invasion, he was able to keep our division together despite the chaos surrounding us and the tensions that were tearing the Seireitei apart."

"Well, the gaki has my vote," Kyōraku said. Since he was a good friend of Ukitake, Kyōraku had gotten to know Naruto very well, and he could see that despite his flaws, the boy had a lot of potential.

"I also vote yes. The kid's a helluva good fighter and he's pretty handy with a sword," Kenpachi said with a small smirk.

"I vote yes on Lieutenant Uzumaki being promoted to the position of Third Division Captain," Sajin Komamura, the wolf-like Seventh Division Captain, said. He sympathized with Naruto since both of them shared the experience of being an outcast. He also hoped that Naruto would help Kaname, who he was friends with, and set him on the right path. Finally Naruto didn't care about Komamura's appearance and in fact didn't so much as even comment on it.

"Naruto-kun has shown to be caring and considerate of others, so I vote yes," Unohana said in her usual gentle voice.

"Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki has my vote," Toshiro Hitsugaya said. Although the blond teenager sometimes got on Toshiro's nerves, he held a good deal of respect towards him, and also realized he had the potential to be a leader.

"Although I do agree with Captain Ukitake that he lacks experience, I vote yes," Soifon stated. She was, surprisingly, on good terms with the lieutenant and considered him to be an excellent sparring partner since he possessed an excellent mastery of Hakuda.

"I vote no, and I don't feel like giving my reasons why," Mayuri Kurotsuchi said in his usual eerie tone.

His reasons for not voting for Naruto were actually very pathetic. When Naruto first joined the Gotei 13, Mayuri wanted to experiment on the boy since he was, and still is, the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

However, Kushina had beaten Mayuri within an inch of his life for trying to harm her son even though Naruto didn't find out about his incident until after Kushina's rampage. After that, Mayuri had spent two months in the hospital, having to be put in a body cast (despite the fact he contained artificial organs).

He also hated the blonde since every time Naruto would past by him, he would utter the name "Kisuke Urahara", a name that infuriated the 12th Division Captain to no end. Naruto likewise despised Mayuri since he had a general disregard for life and showed little respect towards others. Naruto also hated the way he treated Nemu, his lieutenant and "daughter". Denying the blonde the position of Captain was somewhat satisfying for Mayuri.

"I vote yes on promoting Lieutenant Uzumaki," Byakuya said in a calm voice. This took everyone in the room by surprise, as the Kuchiki clan head took little to no interest in Naruto.

Head Captain Yamamoto appeared to be silent for a few minutes, before finally speaking.

"It is decided then: Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki will be promoted to the position of Captain of the Third Division."

"Head Captain, I object to this," Mayuri shouted, seething at the fact that his chance at getting payback was denied.

"Quiet!" Yamamoto said in a voice that left no room for argument. He then focused his attention to the rest of the Captains.

"The inauguration ceremony for the new Captains shall take place two days from today. You are now dismissed."

The remaining Captains promptly left and departed back to their divisions, with Ukitake going to tell Naruto the good news.

* * *

[13th Division Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_Ten Minutes Later…_

Ukitake walked through the halls of the 13th Division Barracks, looking for his lieutenant. He soon found him in a room with Rukia, Kiyone, and Sentarō. They were currently having green tea and rice balls. Naruto noticed his Captain entering the room and gave him a smile.

"Hi, Captain! Would you like some tea? We just made it."

"Maybe later, Naruto-san. I have some very important news to tell you."

"Really? What is it?" Naruto said as he took a bite out of a rice ball and began to chew it.

"I have recently come back from a meeting with the remaining Captains, and it has been decided that you will be promoted to the position of Captain of the Third Division.

Naruto's eyes widen in surprise at what Ukitake just said and he immediately began to choke on his rice ball. Rukia dealt several hard blows to Naruto's back until the half chewed piece of food came out of his mouth and unto the table. He then looked up at his Captain with a confused look on his face.

"Are you serious? I've only been in the Gotei 13 for three years and I'm already a Captain?" Naruto said in a voice that was bordering on being excited and being shocked. It normally took decades for somebody to become Captain, let alone a lieutenant. He considered himself lucky to be handpicked by Ukitake when he just graduated from the Shin'o Academy.

Ukitake gave the newly promoted Captain a warm smile.

"I am definitely serious. Many of the Captains hold you in high opinion, excluding Mayuri. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am. You are now officially the youngest Captain in the history of the Gotei 13."

Rukia then did something very unexpected. She first gave Naruto a hug and then pecked him on the check. Naruto blushed slightly as Rukia gave him a smile.

"I'm happy for you, Naruto. When I first met you, I knew you had what it took to become a Captain."

"Thanks, Rukia-chan!" Naruto said happily before he was interrupted by the loud, glass-shattering voice of Sentarō.

"Lieutenant, I mean, Captain Uzumaki! I can't tell you how I'm feeling right now! I'm happy that you're being promoted, but I'm also sad that you won't be with his any more. I will truly miss you, sir!"

"Hey! That's _my _line, Sentarō! I spent more time with Captain Uzumaki, so I'm the one that'll miss him the most!"

"Why do you always have to hone in on my actions, Kiyone? I knew Captain Uzumaki better than you, so I'll miss him even more!"

"Why don't you shut up, you baka?!"

"Why don't you make me, you shrimp?!"

Ukitake, Naruto, and Rukia all sweatdropped at the behavior of the two 3rd Seat Officers as they continued to bicker. Naruto definitely knew that this was one thing he _wouldn't _miss about the 13th Division...

Next Time - The Other World of the Living


	6. The Other World of the Living

**Chapter 6 – The Other World of the Living**

Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto _or _Bleach_. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.

A/N: My Beta, Rocker1600, will be gone for most of July and won't be back until August 2nd. Because of that, this story will be on temporary hiatus until that time.

* * *

[Captain's Assembly Hall, Seireitei, Soul Society]

Naruto, Minato, and Fugaku were standing in front of the remaining Captains of the Gotei 13**. **Head Captain Yamamoto had just been presented the three with their new Captain's haoris. Naruto's haori was sleeveless while Minato's and Fugaku's had long sleeves. Minato's haori also had a red flame pattern on the hemline; similar to the haori he wore when he was the Yondaime Hokage.

Yamamoto stepped back and let the Captains look at the new shinigami that would be joining the rank of Captain. After some silence, Yamamoto made his announcement.

"To my fellow Captains, I now introduce to you the new Captains of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth divisions: Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze, and Fugaku Uchiha!"

The remaining Captains erupted into applause (although Mayuri did his half-heartedly, as he was still annoyed that Naruto got to become a Captain). After the applause was finished, both Kyoraku and Toshiro approached Naruto.

"Well, welcome to the club, kid." Kyoraku said with his usual warm smile on his face. He than extended his hand and rustled Naruto's hair a bit, which was still long and shaggy from the effects of his bankai. Naruto liked how his hair now looked and decided to keep it long. He now looked his father, except for his whisker marks, and the fact that he was a few inches shorter than him.

Toshiro spoke next.

"I have to congratulate you, Naruto. Not only are you Captain, but also you are now currently the youngest captain in the history of the Gotei 13. For the longest time, I held that title. I admit I am a bit jealous."

Naruto gave the Tenth Division Captain a smile.

"Uh, thanks Toshiro."

Kyoraku immediately frozed with a shocked expression on his face. Naruto raised an eyebrow at this.

"What's wrong, Captain Kyoraku?"

"Well, it's just that nobody has _ever _referred to Captain Hitsugaya by his first name without him throwing a fit."

"Actually, Naruto does this all the time."

This statement shocked Kyoraku even further as he started to stutter. Toshiro had given up on trying to remind Naruto to call him "Captain Hitsugaya", and had tolerated him calling him "Toshiro". However, he wasn't this lenient towards everyone else.

Kyoraku turned and left while Toshiro gave Naruto a nod as he left too. Having nobody left to talk to, Naruto left the Captain's Assembly Hall to move the rest of his personal belongings into his new barracks.

* * *

[Captain's Office, Third Division Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_Two Hours Later…_

Naruto had just finished unpacking his personal belongings and was now just putting the finishing touches to his office's desk. The walls of his office were painted spring green while the floor was made of burgundy hardwood. Besides his desk and chair, there were two bookcases near the desk. Naruto had decorated his desk with a small potted fern and two framed pictures. The first picture was of him, Ukitake, Rukia, Kiyone, and Sentarō. The second one was his picture of Team 7 (which he had on his person when he died).

As Naruto looked over his new office, Izuru Kira, the 3rd Division lieutenant, entered the office. Kira had icy blue eyes and shoulder length pale blonde hair that was divided into three points. Two were on the back of his head while a third was combed to his left eye. For one reason or another, Kira looked like a male version of Ino to Naruto.

"Hello, Captain Uzumaki," Kira said as he approached his new Captain. Naruto was surprised by the fact the Kira didn't sound gloomy or depressed like he usually did. He sounded slightly upbeat.

"Please, don't be so formal. Just call me Naruto," the new Third Division Captain said as he got up and shook Kira's hand. Naruto had known Kira from all of the lieutenant's meetings that they had had together.

"From what I've heard, you've been depressed about Gin's betrayal."

"Well, I am a little bit."

That was a complete understatement. From what Naruto had heard, Kira had gone binge drinking with Rangiku (who secretly had feelings for Gin) in an attempt to remove the feelings of betrayal Gin had left them with, and they somehow had gotten Hisagi involved. By the end of the night, all three of them were found passed out, and Kira and Hisagi had been subsequently stripped down to their underwear.

Before either blonde could continue, a rather cheerful voice was heard coming from the halls. Two shingami then entered the office. The first one looked like a teenaged girl with chestnut brown hair kept in a ponytail, brown eyes, and had a small blush on her cheeks. In her sash was a katana with hilt colored deep purple and a oval shaped tsuba with a floral design on it. In her hand was a small plate of sweet bean daifuku, which she was currently munching on. The second person was a young man with slate grey eyes and silver white hair. He had on a pair of fingerless gloves. In his sash was a katana with a reddish brown hilt and a rectugular tsuba with a flame pattern on it.

The girl put her plate of sweets on Naruto's desk and approached him.

"Hiya! You must be our new Captain! I'm Sakuma Tōmitsu, the Third Division's Third Seated Officer!" The girl said in a peppy voice as she energetically shook Naruto's hand. The silver haired man then spoke up.

"My name is Aoshi Onokishi. I'm the Third Division's Fourth Seated Officer, and I'm looking forward to working with you Captain Uzumaki."

"It's nice to meet you two," Naruto said as Sakuma finally stopped shaking Naruto's hand.

"Your face looks like a fox! Just like Captain Ichimaru's!" Sakuma cheerfully commented. Kira looked down at his subordinate with a annoyed look on his face.

"Sakuma, don't you have paperwork to finish up?"

"Oh, right! See you later, Captain! You can help yourself to the daifuku!" Sakuma said as she rushed out of the office. Naruto picked up a daifuku and took a bite out of it before he turned to Kira.

"You're not very fond of her, are you?"

"Here's what I think of her: she's the cute, hyperactive one you want to strangle in her sleep.

"It takes time to get use to Sakuma," Aoshi said as he faced his new Captain.

"So Captain Uzumaki, it sounds like you've made quite a name for yourself. You've managed to defeat Kenpachi Zaraki in a fight."

"Its no big deal. I fight Kenpachi-san every other day of the week," Naruto replied nonchalantly. Both Aoshi's and Kira's eyes widened at this statement. Aoshi then snapped out of his trance and continued to talk.

"I've once thought about joining the 11th Division at one time, but I decided against it."

"Was it because the unseated officers were unruly assholes who bully the Fourth Division?"

"Yes, it was _**exactly **_because of that."

Naruto then sat down at his desk as he took out a pen and ink set. He then look at his two subordinates.

"Here are my first orders as Captain of the Third Division: please don't bother me for the next two hours because I'll be doing paperwork. And from what Old Man Sarutobi told me, it's both a nightmare and a pain in the ass."

Both of the shinigami nodded and left. Naruto then picked up his pen and began to fill out a form.

* * *

[2nd Division Barracks. Seireitei, Soul Society]

_One week later…_

It had been a week since Naruto had been promoted, and he was currently getting along with his new subordinates. He would ocassionally drop by the Thirteenth Division barracks and say hi to Ukitake or Rukia.

Naruto was currently in the Second Division Barracks, sparring with Soifon. He currently had his haori and the top half of his shihakushō off while Soifon was wearing the uniform of the commander-in-chief of the Onmitsukidō. Both of them also had the complete versions of their Shunkō activated. Omaeda and Haku were off to the side, with the former stuffing his face with fried rice crackers.

"So Naruto, how are you enjoying your new division so far?" Soifon asked as she attempted to perform a Hakuda move called **Kazeguruma **(Windmill) on him, which he promptly blocked with his forearms.

"There an interesting bunch, Captain Soifon. I'm really surprised with Sakuma. She's hyper and has a sweettooth that rivals Yachiru's, but she's really skilled in Kidō and Shunpō."

"You should consider yourself lucky. Your third seated officer is very talented. I'm stuck with an obese idiot who can be taken out with a single punch."

"Hey! I resent that!" Omaeda said with a mouthful of crackers, casuing crumbs to spill from his mouth and onto the floor. Haku sighed at his subordinate's antics while Soifon simply glared at him.

"Did I ask for your opinion, Omaeda? No, I didn't. So keep your mouth shut unless you have anything productive to say."

Soifon then performed an open-palm strike, which Naruto dodged and responded with a reverse roundhouse kick. Before they could finish their spar, there were interrupted when Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe of the First Division arrived. Sasakibe had short silver-gray hair with a small black handlebar mustache. He had on a white jinbaori over his shinigami shihakusho with white arm guards and wore a white turtleneck under it.

"Captain Uzumaki, Head Captain Yamamoto asks for your presence."

Naruto nodded as he deactivated his Shunkō. He then flashstepped over to the where his clothes were, put them back on, and then flashstepped back to Soi Fon.

"Well, see you around, Captain Soifon. I hope to spar with you again soon."

"Likewise," Soifon responsed neutrally as Naruto flashstepped towards the First Division Barracks.

[Head Captain Yamamoto's Office, 1st Division Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_A few minutes later…_

Naruto had just arrived at Yamamoto's office, and to his surprise, found Yamamoto at his desk, lightly snoring. It appeared that Yamamoto had drifted to sleep while waiting for the blonde Captain. Naruto took a seat at Yamamoto's desk and patiently waited for the Head Captain to wake up. A few minutes later, one Ichigo Kurosaki burst into the room with an annoyed look on his face. His entrance was enough to wake Yamamoto up from his slumber.

"What? Oh! Captain Uzumaki and Ichigo Kurosaki. I am glad that both of you could make it."

"Well, what do you want Gramps? I'm not available all day, you know." Ichigo said bluntly. Naruto suddenly smacked him upside the head.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?"

"Rule number one: show the Head Captain some respect. I had to learn that lesson the hard way," Naruto said as he refocused his attention on Yamamoto. When Naruto had first joined the Gotei 13, he kept calling Yamamoto "jiji-san". The head captain was not tolerant of such disrespect, and he "taught" the blonde to show him respect when he called him "jiji-san" one too many times. His "lesson" was using the Hakuda move **Ikkotsu **(One Bone) on him, which had knocked him into a building and broked a couple of his ribs. From that point on, Naruto referred to Yamamoto as either "the Head Captain" or "Old Man Yama" when he wasn't in his presence.

Yamamoto briefly looked at the two teenagers before continuing.

"As I was saying, thank you both for coming. Captain Uzumaki, I have summoned you here because I have a mission for you to partake."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this.

"Go on."

"We have come to believe that Sosuke AIzen has developed an interest in your home village of Konohagakure, the Villahe Hidden in the Leaves. Konoha is the jūreichi of the Shinobi World, the point which posses the greatest concentration of spiritual beings. We want you, Captain Uzumaki, to lead a small team of Shinigami, which will include Ichigo Kurosaki, into Konoha to investigate and protect it from any potential threats that Aizen may send, which may include Arrancar."

Naruto was taken back by what Yamamoto said. He was angered by the fact that Aizen would attempt to harm his precious people, and was shocked by the fact that Yamamoto wanted him to go instead of any of the other shinobi.

"But why me? Why not my dad or Fugaku-san?"

"It is simple: everybody in your village does not know that you are dead. They assume that you are missing in action because they did not find a body at your death scene. If we were to send Captain Namikaze or Captain Uchiha, then chaos would break out. Even when you tell them the truth, it'll be much easier for you to go to Konoha. Anyway, will you accept this mission?"

Naruto appeared to be silent for a few minutes before he looked up at Yamamoto and gave him a nod of approval.

"Very well. You have forty-eight hours to assemble your team. I wish you the best of luck."

The two teenagers left Yamamoto's office and walked down the hall. After some silence, Naruto stopped and faced Ichigo.

"Ichigo, if you don't want to go you don't-"

"There's no need to worry. I've made up my mind and I'm going with you."

Naruto now had confused look on his face. He knew that Ichigo had other concerns in his own world such as his Substitute Shinigami duties and school (which to him was bizarre from what Rukia had said; It was nothing like the Konoha Ninja Academy or the Shin'o Academy).

"Huh?"

"Aizen's planning on attacking Konoha, right? As your friend, I want to help you protect your former home."

"Well … convincing you was much easier than I imagined. C'mon, let's go find Renji. I know he'd want to join."

Ichigo nodded and the two of them set off to find the Sixth Division Lieutenant...

**Omake #1: Naruto's Fashion Critics**

"Well? What do you think?" Naruto asked as he held a Polaroid photograph up to Ichigo's, Renji's, and Byakuya's face. It was picture himself when he was still alive. In said photo, he had on a big grin and was wearing his traffic cone orange jumpsuit. The substitute and the two Sixth Division members were either stunned or confused at what they were seeing.

"Does the the word 'stealth' mean anything to you?" Ichigo asked as Naruto raised an eyebrow at what Ichigo said.

"Huh?"

"I don't mean to criticize your sense of fashion or anything, but what kind of ninja wears a jumpsuit?" Renji asked. "And furthermore, why is it colored bright orange? Outfits with a color like that screams 'look at me! I'm a target! Please kill me!'"

"Shut up, Renji! Orange is an awesome color!" Naruto countered before Byakuya threw in his two cents.

"I am aware that since Captain Uzumaki was a commoner, he had little variety in his choice of attire. But that outfit is both hideous and a complete abomination."

Naruto's good mood was now suddenly gone. He dropped the photo and activated the Full Tailed Beast Version of his Reiatsu Shroud. Ichigo, Renji, and Byakuya paled at this

"Wait, you aren't taking these comments personally, are you?" Ichigo asked nervously. Naruto, with a blank look on his face, then created a manifestation of Kurama's head, which was charging a Tailed Beast Ball.

"I believe he is," Byakuya deadpanned as all three of them began to run. Kurama's head released the Tailed Beast Ball, which detonated a few feet behind the three shinigami. The closeness of the explosion caused all three of them to run even faster.

Kurama and Kaze no Moi were currently watching the scene unfold in Naruto's mind, with the Zanpakuto spirit laughing his ass off.

"That's drastic, even for him," Kurama said as he rested his chin on his paws. Kaze finished laughing as he wiped a tear away from his eye.

"You know what they say: there's no kill like overkill..."

Next Time - Coming Home


	7. Homecoming

**Chapter 7 – Coming Home**

Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto _or _Bleach. _They are respectively owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo

A/N: If you're wondering how I was able to get this chapter up when my Beta was away, then allow me to explain: Rocker1600 was able to get Internet Access in the place hew as staying. Thus, he was able to Beta my chapter.

* * *

[Senkaimon Gate, Seireitei, Soul Society]

_Two Days Later…_

Two days after initially being assigned the mission, Naruto and his three-man team stood in front of the Senkaimon Gate, waiting for the Kidō Corps memebers to open it up. After recruiting Ichigo, Naruto had successfully recruited Renji, who said that he was looking for some excitement (apparently Renji had adopted the love of a good fight from his days in the 11th Division).

Naruto had then attempted to recruit Captain Kyoraku, but he had declined and made the excuse that he was busy with his division. However, Naruto suspected him of lying, as Kyoraku spent most of his time napping, drinking sake, and chasing after women. He then tried to convince Toshiro, but he also declined, as he also was busy with his duties as a Captain. Naruto also knew he was concerned about Momo, who was put into a coma after Aizen had wounded her. After that, Byakuya had approached them and offered to join them on their mission. However, he kept his reasons for wanting to go on this mission to himself. Naruto, although shocked and confused by this, accepted Byakuya's offer.

Several members of the Gotei 13 had shown up to see them off. They included all of the Captains and their lieutenants (with the exception of Mayuri and Nemu), along with Naruto's squad members and the shinobi. Naruto had just finished saying goodbye with his parents, and was now saying goodbye to his subordinates. He had shake Kira's and Aoshi's hands while Sakuma had given him a bone-crushing hug, despite her small frame. After being released from said hug, both Fugaku and Mikoto approached the Third Division captain. The former head of the Uchiha clan spoke up.

"Captain Uzumaki."

"Oh, hello Fugaku-san. Or should I call you Captain Uchiha?"

"I prefer to be addressed by the former. Anyway, my wife and I have a request for you. When you get to Konohagakure, please, check up on Sasuke."

"Alright, I will," the blonde captain said before turning to face the Senkaimon gate.

Rukia then approached Byakuya, who looked down at his sister-in-law/adopted sister.

"Nii-sama, please be careful and stay safe."

"I will, Imouto."

What her adopted older brother just said shocked Rukia. Byakuya had never been this warm to her, and he had usually been cold and distant. The four Shinigami going into the shinobi world then lined up.

Suddenly, the Senkaimon gate opened up, and the three shinigami and the substitute rushed off with their hell butterflies leading the way.

* * *

[A few miles outside of Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]

_A few minutes later…_

In a quiet forest in the Land of Fire, a gate suddenly appeared out of thin air, and it opened, revealing a circular entryway. Suddenly, Naruto and his Shinigami team exit out of it. The Hell Butterflies turned around and left as the Senkaimon Gate closed.

The team took a look at their surroundings before Naruto made his assumption.

"I say from our surroundings, we are about ten to twelve miles from Konoha."

"Captain Uzumaki, I have a suggestion, if you are willing to listen to it," Byakuya said.

"Go on."

"I suggest we use our shunpo for most of the journey until we reach the halfway point. We then walk from there."

"For once, I agree with you on something, Byakuya." Naruto commented snidely as he flashstepped off before anyone else could say a word. Byakuya and Renji followed suit, and then Ichigo left as soon as he was done catching his breath.

_A half hour later…_

The team quickly reached a spot that Naruto recognized as the place where Team 7 fought the Demon Brothers of Kiri on their first C-rank mission. The team carried on in silence as they listen to the sounds of nature. The wind rustled through the trees, birds happily chirped, and a squirrel occasionally chattered. However, this relaxing atmosphere was ruined five minutes later.

"SO DAMN ANNOYING!" Ichigo yelled out in a comedic fashion. His sudden outburst caused his fellow teammates to stumble and fall face first. Naruto was the first to get up as he brushed the dirt off of his haori.

"You just had to go and ruin the nice, quit, an peaceful sounds of nature, didn't you Ichigo?" Naruto sarcastically commented as he cleaned out his ear to make sure his hearing wasn't ruined.

"Well, the silence is driving me insane! I'm used to my dad or Keigo blabbing nonstop!"

"This Keigo person sounds incredibly annoying, whoever he is." Byakuya commented silently to himself.

"Fine! Then lets talk!" Naruto said as he walked forward with his team in tow. Renji then walked up next to him to ask him a question.

"So Naruto, how do you think everyone will react to you returning from the dead?"

Naruto tried to surpress a snicker as he gave his answer.

"The civilian populace will probably be scared shitless that the 'kyuubi brat' has returned and is now a shinigami. They may even beg for forgiveness."

"They couldn't think of a better nickname for you, could they?" Ichigo asked.

"Nope."

"What about your friends? How do you think they would react?" Byakuya asked.

Naruto turned serious at this question.

"They've probably already found out about Kurama… so I can only hope that they don't judge me in that light like everyone else had done."

Naruto was broken out of his musings when what looked like the head and arms of a stuffed lion plushie popped out of a sack that Ichigo was carrying. The plushie had black beads for eyes and it had an awful stench to it, which reminded Naruto of a sewer.

"HEY ICHIGO, DO YOU KNOW HOW DARK AND HOT IT IS IN HERE?!" the plushie yelled out, which took Naruto by surprise.

"Shut up, Kon!" Ichigo yelled as he shoved the stuff animal back into the sack. He turned to the Third Division Captain, who had a confused look on his face.

"What the hell was that?"

"Oh, that's just Kon. He's the mod soul that Rukia gave me shortly after I first got my powers."

"Why the Hell would you bring a mod soul with you when we aren't even using Gigais?" Naruto asked as Ichigo began his explanation.

"It's because he's been causing trouble at home while I was in the Soul Society trying to save Rukia and he has singlehandedly _annihilated _the image I have carefully crafted for myself. I had to ask Urahara-san to erase the memories of what he did from the minds of everyone back home and that took us three days to do."

"What did he do that was so bad?"

"Well, let's see: he's peeked into the women's changing room at the swimming pool-"

"That's not so bad."

"… Peeked up women's skirts, and has attempted to grope several of teenage girls, including Tatsuki."

"_Good Kami, he's worst than Ero-sannin." _Naruto thought to himself as he continued to listen to Ichigo's rant before asking a question.

"So why did you bring him along, anyways?"

"I gave him a simple choice: either he tags along with me or he would be stuck with my sister Yuzu, who likes to dress stuff animals up."

"It doesn't sound like you gave him much of an option. Anyway, I don't understand how you can tolerate him, Ichigo. Kon's loud and annoying."

"From what I have heard, you were loud and annoying when you were alive, Captain Uzumaki." Byakuya commented nonchalantly. A vein popped up in Naruto's forehead as he turned to face his fellow Captain.

"SHUT UP, BYAKUYA!"

"Thank you for proving my point, Captain Uzumaki." Byakuya calmly said as Naruto gripped his zanpakuto.

He was about to pull unsheathe it when he suddenly stopped upon sensing a disturbance nearby. Naruto then ran off into the forest, motioning for the other members of his team to follow him. When they got to where Naruto was, they were a bit surprised at what they saw.

It was Team 7 (or what was left of the original version, anyway) fighting what appeared to be an Imperfect Arrancar. The Arrancar had beefy arms and legs, and its entire body was covered in dark purple fur. It had goat-like horns on the top of its head, and webbed fingers and toes. Its hollow mask was skull shaped, and where the skull's mouth opened up was where its two beady eyes were. Strapped to its back was a gigantic katana with a rectangular tsuba and a red hilt.

Naruto also took notice of person he assumed to be his replacement on Team 7. It was a teenage boy with sickly pale skin and black hair. He was wearing very effeminate clothing, which showed off his midriff, and carried scrolls and painting equipment in addition to a tantō that he carred on his back. Naruto also noted that the boy also had on a horribly fake smile that put all of Aizen's fake smiles to shame in comparison.

"You guys should stay here; I want to help them myself," Naruto said as he was about to leap out and help. However, Ichigo grabbed him by his haori collar and pulled him back.

"What the hell was that for, Ichigo?" Naruto said, as he regained his footing.

"How the hell are we suppose to help them when they can't even see us?"

Naruto let out a heavy sigh before he answered the Substitute Shinigami.

"If you must know right now, Ichigo, everybody in the Shinobi World, and I mean _everybody_, has a high enough level of spiritual awareness to see us unlike the people in your world."

Naruto then noticed that Sasuke was now on the ground and the Arrancar was about to deliver the finishing blow. Naruto quickly flashstepped between the Arrancar and Sasuke, blocking its fist with his Zanpakuto.

"What-?!" Kakashi, the leader of Team 7, stuttered out.

"Hey Arrancar, how about you go pick on somebody your own size like a Gillian?" Naruto taunted as he twirled his blade a bit.

He then aimed his left palm at the giant Arrancar.

"**Hadō #33: Sōkatsui **(Blue Fire, Crash Down)" Naruto said before a torrent of blue reiryoku was generated from his open palm and hit the Arrancar squarely in the chest, causing the brute to drop to the ground.

"_Now that he's down for the moment maybe I can talk to them for a few minutes,_" Naruto thought to himself before he turned to face the stunned members of his former team.

"N-Naruto...?" Sakura stuttered out in shock.

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head while giving a small grin. After about a minute or so he finally ended the awkward silence.

"Hey guys... ummm... long time, no see?"

Sasuke, who was already up on his feet, got over enough of his shock to walk up to Naruto... and grabbed him by his shihakusho.

"Is that all you have to say to us?! Do you know how long you've been gone?! Where have you been, Naruto?! What was that thing we just fought?! What is going on?! And how the hell were able to even stop that thing?!" Sasuke asked angrily.

To Sasuke's shock, as well as that of Sakura and Kakashi, Naruto simply took a deep breath and _**calmly **_responded to the Uchiha's questions.

"To answer your questions in order: I have more things to say but they'll have to wait, it's been three years, that's a long story that'll I tell you and the others soon enough, what you fought is something known as an Arrancar, that's another long story I'll have to explain later, and I actually only slowed that Arrancar down. Now if you'll excuse me..." Naruto said before he spun around, freeing himself from Sasuke's grip in the process.

"... I need to finish the job," Naruto continued as he blocked another of the Arrancar's punches; he then slashed the Arrancar's fist, causing said fist to bleed a bit.

"What? Nobody has ever been able to land a blow on me! Just who the hell are you?" the Arrancar bellowed out.

"I'm sorry, I must've forgotten to introduce myself" Naruto said as he pointed his left thumb at his headband.

"I am Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, Captain of the Gotei 13's Third Division."

The Arrancar seemed to be amused by this, as he let out a loud laugh that echoed through the air.

"Ha! Today must be my lucky day! I've not just encountered a shinigami, but a shinigami captain! You'll make an excellent dessert, after I have feasted upon those poor souls I was fighting!

Naruto tensed at this, gripping Kaze no Moi in a two-handed grip as he let out a large amount of killing intent towards the Arrancar.

"You must be desperate if you're going after living humans, Arrancar. I'm not letting you harm these people. In fact, I'm going to kill you right where you stand."

"Ha! You don't stand a chance at defeating me, Shinigami," the Arrancar scoffed as he pulled out his own zanpakuto. "I am an Arrancar, a hollow that has removed its mask in order to gain the powers of a Shinigami. Do you know what the size of my zanpakuto means?"

"_Shinigami? What is going on here?_" Kakashi thought to himself as Naruto answered the Arrancar's question.

"Let me guess... it means that you're probably compensating for something?" Naruto joked as the Arrancar glared at him.

"No! The size of my zanpakuto equivalent to the amount of reiatsu that I possess! So there is no chance you can defeat me with that measly toothpick of a zanpakuto!"

A ridiculously giant poked out of Kaze no Moi's forehead when he heard that taunt.

"_What did that asshole just call me?" _he asked in a clearly irritated tone as he tried not to explode in rage inside of Naruto's mind. Kurama just laughed out loud at the Arrancar's insult, which irked Kaze even more.

"You talk big, Arrancar, You want to test out that theory of yours?" Naruto ask he settled into a zanjutsu stance.

"With pleasure," the Arrancar sneered as he charged forward with Naruto following suit. In the blink of an eye, Naruto landed on the other side, getting up and sheathing his zanpakuto.

The Arrancar, however, was not so lucky. It collapsed on the ground, having been bisected by the jawline. Blood seeped out of its wounds and it slowly blinked. Its breathing was now labored.

"But... how? It's impossible, my zanpakuto was much bigger!" the Arrancar ranted as Naruto approached it.

"Allow me to explain: Shinigami who are at the level of a Captain have learned how to consciously keep their zanpakutos in a manageable size. Otherwise, we'd all be using swords that are the size of buildings just like your blade. You shouldn't judge a shinigami by the size of their zanpakuto, but on how they wield it. Don't talk about a Shinigami's strength until you've understood that, Arrancar."

With a loud groan, he Arrancar died, and it subsequently dissipated into millions of tiny fragments.

Naruto then turned and faced Team 7. Sakura, Sauske, and Kakashi who had shocked expressions on their faces once again while his replacement was somehow able to keep a neutral expression on his face. His former teammates were not only shocked by the fact that Naruto had returned but also by the fact that he was no longer the goofy, hyperactive blonde that they once knew. This Naruto was much more calm and mature, and he had singlehandedly taken out this "Arrancar" creature, as he called it, without breaking a sweat while they had struggled landing a single scratch on it.

Naruto turned his attention back to the members of his former team.

"Now that I've taken out the garbage I guess I should now explain myself..." Naruto said...

Next Time - The Reunion


	8. The Reunion

**Chapter 8 – The Reunion**

Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto _or _Bleach_. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo, respectively.

A/N: I'd like to again give a shootout to my beta, Rocker1600, who not only edited this chapter, but also wrote part of it. I suggest that you go check out his stories, which are very good and enjoyable reads. Also, enjoy the first in the series of Omakes that'll periodically appear in my story called "Zanpakuto Review".

[A few miles outside of Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]

_Current Time..._

Naruto looked at his old team as the remains of the Arrancar floated into the breeze. They didn't look different except for their new change in attire. Kakashi had changed the least, the only differences being that he now wore a pair of metal arm guards and a belt where he kept a tantō. Sakura still kept her hair short and had abandoned her qipao dress in favor for a more combat appropriate outfit. She now wore a red top with white circular designs, black boots, black shorts, a pale pink apron-style skirt, and elbow protectors. She had also switched out the cloth of her forehead protector for a red one. She also wore a medical pouch on her hip and above it was a small storage scroll.

Sasuke wore a sleeveless dark grey shirt with black ANBU style pants, a black slash around his waist, and black shinobi style sandals. Over his shirt, he wore a indigo colored happi coat with sleeves that ended below his elbows. The Uchiha clan crest was on the back, which had a black x that crossed it out. He also had bandages that covered his wrists and most of his forearms. As for weapons, he had a kunai holster attached to his thigh and a black katana that he kept in his sash across the small of his back.

"Now where to begin?" Naruto said to himself as he scratched his chin in thought. However, his thought process was interrupted when his replacement asked him a question.

"Why are you wearing a bathrobe?'

"Huh?"

Naruto stared at his replacement, who had his eyes closed with that painfully fake grin still on his face. For some reason, the face he was making him look like Gin's and Aizen's fake smiles put together. Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose as he released an annoyed sigh before addressing his replacement.

"It's not a bathrobe, you dumbass. It's shihakusho, the standard garb of a shinigami. It consists of a white shitagi, a black kosode, a black hakama, and a white hakama-himo. It's nothing like a bathrobe. It's more like a cooler kimono."

"Naruto, we can discuss your taste in fashion later. Can you just please tell us what is going on?" Sasuke asked, getting clearly irritated.

"Alright, but first off, I want you to meet the rest of my team," Naruto said before he turned towards the forest line and whistled. Three people came out of the forest, dressed in similar clothing. The first two appeared to be teenagers while the last one appeared to be in his mid to late twenties.

The first was had spiky orange hair, brown eyes, and peach colored skin with a lean yet muscular build. His face also appeared to be set in a near permanent scowl. He was wearing a shihakusho with a red rosary-like strap scross his chest. Across his back was a very large sword in the shape of a Khyber knife covered in cloth. The second person had brown eyes and crimson red hair that was kept up in a spiky ponytail, similar to Shikamaru's. He also had tattoos covering his forehead, but a white headband that covered his forehead obscured this. He carried a katana at his side, which had a bronze rectangular tsuba with a jagged design on it, and a red hilt and sheath. The last person had long black hair with a neutral or emotionless expression on his face. He wore a standard Captain's uniform along with three white hairpieces, a white silk scarf, and fingerless white tekko gloves that covered the backs of his hands. He also had a katana strapped to his side, with a bronze rectangular tsuba with an open frame similar to a four-pane window, lavender hilt wrappings, and a white sheath.

"Guys, I would like you to meet my Shinigami team: Ichigo Kurosaki, Lieutenant Renji Abarai, and Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. (He turns to face Ichigo and the other Shinigami) Team, I'd like you to meet Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, and some pale guy who's apparently my replacement."

"Naruto, the 'pale guy's' name is Sai," Sakura pointed out.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. Now, please have a seat while I explain things," Naruto said as he drew his katana and chopped down a rather large tree with one swing of it. This naturally shocked Team 7 as Naruto motioned them to sit down. When everyone was seated, Naruto began his explanation.

"First off, yes, I'm dead. I died three years ago at the Valley of the End, fighting Sasuke. After I died, I became a Shinigami, or 'Soul Reaper' as some people call us. I've been sent back here on a mission with a team, which I will explain in detail once we get back to Konoha. Are there any questions so far?"

Sakura was the first person to spoke up.

"How can you be a Shinigami when you look nothing like one? Shinigami are supposed to look like demons with long white hair, white robes, and a Tanto in their mouths that also use prayer beads instead of normal swords."

At this point, both Naruto and Renji burst into hysterical laughter. After laughing for about five minutes (and at this point, Naruto was rolling on the ground), they both recovered and Naruto noted the annoyed look on Sakura's face.

"Oh... so you're serious. Then it looks like I'll have to explain to you all about shinigami and hollows," Naruto said as he gave a nod to Byakuya. The Sixth Division Captain pulled out a sketchbook from his haori and handed to him, which would presumably go along with Naruto's explanation. Ichigo grunted in annoyance at this, since he had a feeling that Byakuya had the same "artistic talents" as Rukia... and for good reason.

"Now then, there are two types of spirits in this world: there are pluses, the spirits of the recently deceased. The other type is known as a Hollow. A Hollow is a plus that has lingered too long in the World of the Living, and has turned into a mindless creature of pure instinct, driven by an eternal and insatiable hunger to devour other souls, either living or dead. A Shinigami's job is to regulate the balance of souls between the World of the Living and the Soul Society, by performing konsō, also known as a Soul Burial, on pluses, and fighting and purifying hollows. Any questions so far? ...None? Good."

For the next hour or so, Naruto explained all of the different aspects of Shinigami and Hollows, including the four types of shinigami combat (Shunpō, Kidō, Zanjutsu, and Hakuda), the structure of the Gotei 13, zanpakutos and their shikai and bankai states, the classification of Hollows, and Arrancars. While Team 7 did listen, they were more preoccupied by the quality of the drawings. They were very poorly drawn, with the characters in the drawings consisted of rabbits, bears, and a strange seaweed-like creature. Naruto soon finished his explanation, and handed the sketchpad back to Byakuya.

"Now, are there any questions?"

"Yeah… who drew the pictures?" Sasuke asked with a dumbfounded look on his face. Byakuya was the one to answer his question.

"I did. Do you have a problem with it?" Byakuya asked, leveling a death glare at the last Uchiha while releasing some of his spiritual pressure.

"No, they're fine." Sasuke replied hurriedly and nervously while noting to himself that Byakuya reminded him a lot of Itachi though this man appeared to be more prideful, and more prone to anger, than his brother. At that exact moment, Sai decided to voice his opinion on Byakuya's art.

"I do not know what Sasuke-kun is talking about, but your drawings are terrible. A monkey could draw better then you."

"Did he just call you 'Sasuke-kun'?" Naruto asked Sasuke as he tried to not laugh at his former teammate while Byakuya, with an annoyed expression on his face, pointed his index finger at Sai and began chanting.

"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! **Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō **(Six Rods Prison of Light)."

A spark of yellow energy generated from Byakuya's finger. Suddenly, six thin and wide beams of glowing light appeared and slammed into Sai's midsection. Sai was now immobile, which clearly took him by surprise if the fact that his fake smile had vanished was anything to go by.

At this point Byakuya took out a permanent black marker out of his hakama pocket and proceeded to doodle on the young man's face. When he was done, Sai now had a pair of glasses, a mustache, a goatee, a pair of bushy eyebrows, and had the kanjis for "idiot" and "loser" drawn on his forehead.

"I'm surprised that you didn't use Sebonzakura on him," Naruto commented as Byakuya put away the marker.

"Committing bodily harm against a human goes against the laws of the Soul Society, Captain Uzumaki." Byakuya replied.

"_They're an interesting bunch" _Kakashi thought to himself as he tried, and failed, to release Sai from his bindings.

"You're wasting your time, Kakashi-sensei. That Kidō spell makes the target incapable of moving their entire body and can only be undone by someone who is able to use Kidō. Anyways, I know I still have a lot of explaining to do, but that can wait until we get back to Konoha where I can discuss things with Tsunade-sama."

The remaining members of Team 7 were taken back by what their former teammate just said, evident by the comedically shocked expressions on their faces.

"What? Oh, you're probably surprised that I didn't refer to her as 'baa-chan' or 'Granny'. Well, let's just say I learned a lesson about respecting your elders during my time in the Soul Society."

"You respecting your elders?! Who are you and what you have done with the real Naruto?!" Sakura asked in her comical shock.

"I'm still the same Naruto... except that I died, went to the Soul Society, met my parents, joined the Gotei 13, became the Lieutenant of the Thirteenth DIvision, kicked the ass of one Sosuke Aizen, and got promoted to Captain," Naruto casually explained away.

Naruto and the other shinigami could tell that the members of Team Kakashi were unconvinced by this.

"Death changes people," Renji casually explained.

"This is Naruto we're talking about. I'm pretty sure that it would take a lot more than death to change him," Kakashi pointed out.

"Yeah, it took a punch from Old Man Yama that sent me flying into a building and broke a couple of ribs after I called him jiji-san too much," Naruto said in a lighthearted tone.

The faces of the Team 7 members paled in horror after learning of the extremes this Old Man Yama, who Naruto also referred to as the Head Captain, could take just to teach a hard lesson.

"Hey, Kakashi... remind me not to piss off this Head Captain figure if we ever meet him," Sasuke whispered to his squad leader.

"Agreed..." Kakashi said before Naruto regained their attention.

"Anyways, let's get going," Naruto suggested.

Team 7 and the Shnigami set off after Byakuya undid the Kidō spell on Sai. About a half hour later, they arrived in Konoha. Naruto noted that it hadn't changed much since his death, with the exception that Tsunade's face was added to the Hokage monument. As the walked through the streets, Naruto noticed that a few people were giving Sasuke ugly looks, which he could relate to. Most of the villagers, however, had focused their attention to Naruto and his Shinigami team, many of them noting how the young Uzumaki looked like the "Yondaime reborn" or that Ichigo had a weird hair color (much to the Substitute's chargin').

They soon arrived to the Hokage tower without attracting too much attention. When they were a few feet outside of Tsunade's office, Kakashi stopped them.

"You should probably wait here until we've given our report to Tsunade-sama. I'll give you the signal when you should come in."

"Alright," Naruto replied reluctantly as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

After Naruto and his team waited outside of Tsunade's office for quite before Naruto tried to find a way to pass the time.

"You guys want to play janken?" Naruto asked his fellow shinigami.

The answer he got? Absolute silence.

"I'll take that as a no."

After a few more minutes of waiting Kakashi opened the door and signalled Naruto and his group to enter the office.

Naruto and his group entered the Hokage's office with Naruto going through the door first. He looked at the two people in front of him, Tsuande and Shizune, who were suddenly, and naturally, stunned by what they were now seeing; Tsunade almost dropped the bottle of sake she was holding at the sight of the teenager who had changed her Life so drastically.

"Naruto... is that... is that really you?" Tsunade asked slowly.

Naruto responded by nodding and flashing his usual grin, convincing the Sannin that it was indeed him. Tsunade got up from her desk walked to the Uzumaki before hugging him, much to his surprise. After Tsunade released Naruto decided another explanation was in order.

"We should sit down; we have a lot to talk about," Naruto said.

Tsunade nodded and motioned for Naruto and his group to sit down as she did the same. After Tsunade asked for Shizune to go prepare some tea for the group, Naruto began his explanation as Team 7 looked on.

Tsunade expression saddened upon hearing that Naruto died on the Sasuke Retrieval Mission.

"It looks like my grandfather's damned necklace took another precious person away from me," Tsunade said softly.

Naruto simply waved it off.

"Believe it or not, I actually wasn't wearing the necklace at the time; I was so focused on bringing Sasuke back home that it stayed in my pocket the entire time. So don't beat yourself up over that... Although I'm actually surprised you would still think of me as one of your 'precious people'," Naruto pointed out.

"You shouldn't be... especially if you consider the fact that you're the reason that I returned to Konoha and became Hokage, Naruto," Tsunade reminded Naruto as Shizune returned with five cups up of tea.

Tsunade, Naruto, and the members of his shinigami team each took a cup.

"Now, then; I should probably tell you why we're here," Naruto began after he took his first sip.

_Two Hours Later..._

"So let me see if I got the important parts correct: You are now a shinigami and are in fact one of their leaders who are called captains," Tsunade began.

"Mm-hmm," Naruto said with a nod.

"And you're saying that a rogue shinigami named Sosuke Aizen has his sights set on Konoha for reasons that are currently unknown."

"Mm-hmm."

"So the man in charge of the shinigami, this Head Captain Yamamoto, sent you and your team on a mission to help protect Konoha from this Aizen and his subordinates."

"Mm-hmm."

"And there's another team of shinigami is being assembled and will arrive in a few days."

"Mm-hmm."

Tsuande, having finished summarizing the situation, looked at the other shinigami before turning her gaze back to Naruto.

"Just so you know, the fact that you're the one explaining this to me is the only reason I'm willing to believe this story. (she sighs) Anyways, should this stay a secret from the rest of the village?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes... except for the guys from my graduating class and Team Guy as well as their senseis, since they'll find out anyways," Naruto answered.

"Ok, then... but what will you be doing until these 'Arrancars' show up?"

"Me and my team will be training to keep our skills sharp... and if I were you guts I would do the same as well. Especially since the one Kakashi-sensei and the others fought right now was a small fry compared to what's coming next."

At this point, Kon decided to pop out of Ichigo's sack and took a large gulp of air as he checked his surroundings. His gaze soon fell upon Tsunade, but more specifically, her glorious "assets". Tears started to swell in his eyes (despite the fact that it was impossible for him to do so) as he jumped out of the sack.

"IS THIS HEAVEN?" Kon shouted out as he attempted to glomp Tsunade. However, the only contact that he got from Tsunade was a chakra-enhanced fist to the face, which sent him flying through the roof and out of Konoha.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" the blonde sannin yelled out as everyone else looked on at the scene.

"That was a Mod Soul, and a lecherous one at that," Naruto calmly replied as he walked towards the office's exit.

"Contact us if you need to discuss something."

"It has been a pleasure to meet you, Tsunade-dono," Byakuya said rather politely as he followed his fellow captain.

"What Captain Kuchiki said," Renji said as he followed suit.

"Well, see you around Granny." Ichigo said as he left for the exit. However, he was stopped in his tracks as he felt a massive amount of killing intent directed at him. Naruto facepalmed at what Ichigo said.

"What did you call me, brat?" Tsunade asked as a vein popped up on her forehead.

"I said I called you Granny. According to Naruto, you use a transformation jutsu to hide your real age, which I'm guessing is around the 50's... which makes you old."

In an instant, the blonde Sannin was up from her seat and charging Ichigo. Her fist was raised, preparing to deliver a powerful haymaker to the Substitute's face. However, Ichigo was able to draw Zangetsu in the nick of time and was able to use the flat side of the sword as a impromptu shield.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Ichigo comically shouted as Tsunade applied more pressure to her fist. Everyone else were surprised at Tsunade's reaction while Shizune had a comedically shocked expression on her face. Naruto suddenly appeared a few feet away from the two, chanting with his eyes partially closed.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rodanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! **Bakudō #9: Geki **(Strike)!"

Naruto then drew the kanji for the spell in the air as a red aura surrounded him. The same red aura surrounded Tsunade, and she soon found she was unable to move. Ichigo took this opurtunity to slip out as Naruto approached the blonde Hokage.

"You _really _need to work on your temper, Tsunade-sama," he playfully chided.

"Let me ask you something, Naruto: What's to stop me from beating you to within an inch of your life once you release me?"

"I can always evade you with my Shunpō, and, more importantly, I have a job to do; besides do you really want to take your chances with the Arrancars when Konoha is at stake?"

After a few seconds passed without a reply from Tsunade Naruto released the Kido restraining the Sannin before he and his team flashstepped out of the building.

A few minutes after flash-stepping away Naruto flashstepped back omto Tsunade's office.

"I forgot to ask, Tsunade-sama... could you give me and my team a place to stay while we're here?" he asked the Hokage.

Tsuande open a drawer in her desk and, after a few seconds, pulled out a key Which she gave to Naruto.

"There's a condo across from the Dango Shop which is opened by that key; it should be large enough for the four of you," Tsunade said.

"Thank you. Oh, and before I forget, Nawaki and Katō-san send their regards," Naruto said in a nonchalant manner before flash stepping away, leaving behind a stunned Tsuande.

[Raikage's Office, Kumogakure, Lightening Country, Shinobi World]

_Meanwhile..._

A, the Yondaime Raikage of Kumogakure, was currently under a tremendous amount of stress. He was now dealing with the threat of the Akatsuki. They were supposedly after their two jinchuriki: Yugito Nii and Killer Bee, the jinchurikis of the Nibi no Neko and the Hachibi no Ushi-Oni, respectively. A was currently filling out paperwork with one hand while lifting a large barbell with the other. He suddenly put the barbell down and pressed a button on his intercom.

"Mabui, please get me one of those rubber stress balls."

"As you wish, Raikage-sama," a feminine voice replied at the other end of the line. Suddenly, something small crashed into his roof and onto his office floor, landing right next to him. A picked up the object, which appeared to be a stuffed lion plushie.

"Cancel that last order," A said as he return to filing out forms while periodically squeezing the lion plushie with his other hand...

**Zanpakuto Review: Yukinokesshō**

"Hello, I am Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, and I will be serving as your host for 'Zanpakuto Review', Naruto said as he stood in front of a large television screen with a metal telescopic pointer in hand. Next to him was Haku Yuki, the Lieutenant of the Gotei 13's 2nd Division, and Corps Commander of the Onmitsukidō.

"Today we will be reviewing Haku-san's zanpakuto, **Yukinokesshō **(Snow Crystal). Yukinokesshō is a very powerful Ice-type zanpakuto, which reflects Haku-san's possession of the Ice Release Kekkai Genkai in his previous life. Yukinokesshō is capable of a variety of feats, such as creating giant ice walls and can fire a barrage of projectile icicles. It's shikai state takes the form of a kodachi while its sealed state takes the form of a tantō," Naruto explained as various video clips of Haku using his zanpakuto appeared on the screen.

"Haku-san, your zanpakuto is very impressive."

"Thank you, Naruto-san."

"I even say its more powerful than Captain Hitsugaya's **Hyōrinmaru **(Ice Ring)."

"That's where you're wrong!" A voice cried out as Toshiro Hitsugaya, the Captain of the Tenth Division, suddenly appeared on the stage.

"Toshiro, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to get some screen time since I won't be appearing for a couple of more chapters, but I also came here to defend my zanpakuto!" Toshiro exclaimed as he looked at his fellow captain straight in the eye.

"Well then, please go on and throw in your two kan," Naruto said as he crossed his arms.

"Very well. When I simply release Hyōrinmaru, its power enough to effect the weather in the general area. It also has very powerful ice attacks."

"Why I do agree that your attacks are powerful when you use your Bankai, Captain Hitsugaya, from what I've seen, those attacks are also ineffective... especially when in your shikai state," Haku politely said as a ridiciously large vein popped up on Toshiro's forehead.

"Ineffective, huh? I'll show you ineffective!" Toshiuro said as he unsheathed his zanpakuto, and uttered one word:

"Bankai! **Daiguren Hyōrinmaru **(Grand Crimson Lotus Ice Ring)!"

Suddenly, ice encased Toshiro's right arm, which formed into the shape of a dragon's head while the four point star tsuba on his katana turned into an eight point star. Ice continued to flow over his body until two giant wings made of ice sprouted from his back along with a long tail. His left hand was incased in ice as it formed into a claw. Lastly, the ice covered his feet, which also ended in claws.

"I think we should run, Haku-san," Naruto whispered to his fellow shinigami.

"Agreed," Haku replied as the two them began to run away from one angry, bankai-wielding Captain.

Next Time - Old Friends


	9. Old Friends

**Chapter 9 – Old Friends**

Disclaimer: Same thing applies as last time. I don't own _Bleach _or _Naruto_. They are the respective property of Tite Kubo and Masashi Kishimoto. This fan fic is just for fun and is not meant for profit.

A/N: I'll be posting a story challenge on my profile soon. Please check it out and PM me if you are interested in taking it.

* * *

[Shinigami Team's Condo, Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]

_Current Time..._

The shinigami team soon arrived at the condo that Tsunade gave them, after departing from the Hokage Tower. The inside of the condo had cream-colored walls and white carpeting. It had a small kitchen area with a stove, a rice cooker, refrigerator, and a few cabinets. There was also a small dining room table with a few chairs. Near the back of the condo was what could be considered the living area. It consisted of a comfortable three-cushion couch, two arm chairs, a glass coffee table, and a very large oaken bookshelf filled with a variety of books. There were also two doors on either side of the room.

"This place is better than my old apartment," Naruto said as he relaxed on the sofa and kicked his sandals off.

"In my opinion, it is modest at best," Byakuya stated as he pulled a book off the bookshelf titled _Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi _and began to flip through it. Renji was currently raiding the fridge, drinking directly from a carton of milk.

"Renji, what are you doing? And more importantly, is that milk expired?" Naruto asked as he eyed the Sixth Division Lieutenant.

"I didn't get to eat breakfast this morning, and don't worry, this milk has at least a month left before it expires. Why do you ask?"

"Let's just say that I've had a bad experience with expired milk when I was alive. And let's leave it at that," Naruto said as he placed his arms behind his head. However, Ichigo decided to ignore Naruto's wishes and began to ask questions.

"So what exactly happe-"

"I _said _let's leave at that!" Naruto snapped at the orange haired substitute, clearly not wanting the subject to be brought up again. Ichigo backed off as he sat down in one of the armchairs. Renji soon joined them after putting the milk away and wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shihakusho.

"Alright, according to the information that was gathered by the Onmitsukidō, there is little to no Hollow activity in Konoha itself, since the shinobi are able to see them and drive them off. But I'm setting up a patrol schedule just to be on the safe side. And here's how it'll go: Renji, then Byakuya, then Ichigo, and finally me."

"Wait, why are you last?" Ichigo asked as Naruto sat up.

"I've arranged the patrol schedule in order by last name. It's not my fault that my last name begins with a 'u'." the Third Division captain replied. "And as I said to Tsunade-sama, we'll also be training to get stronger since we don't know what Aizen will throw at us. Any questions?"

"When will our training regime begin, Captain Uzumaki?" Byakuya asked. Although he wasn't entirely fond of training, he knew that it was necessary.

"We'll start training the day after tomorrow, since there's going to be a meeting with my peers tomorrow. Now let's see what they have to eat around here.

_A few hours later…_

After searching the kitchen, the team had dinner, which consisted of sushi and rice bentos found in the refrigerator. Ichigo, Renji, and Byakuya had gone off to bed while Naruto had stayed up to give his report to Yamamoto via his Soul Pager.

"With the exception of the imperfect Arrancar, everything has gone smoothly so far, Head Captain," Naruto said as he paced around the living room. He currently had his Captain's haori off, which was now on the couch.

"Very well, Captain Uzumaki. Please contact me again in case anything else comes up."

"Also Captain, there is a _small _detail that you messed up on … everyone doesn't assume I'm MIA! Everyone knows that I'm _dead_! Where did you get your info from anyway?"

"I received it from the Onmitsukidō. If you are going to complain to anyone, then complain to Captain Soifon. Now then, have a good evening."

Yamamoto then hanged up on Naruto as he began to dial the number to Soifon's office.

"Greatest intel gatherers my ass," Naruto muttered to himself as he waited for the petite Second Division Captain to answer the call.

"This is Soifon, Captain of the 2nd Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō. How can I be of service?" Soifon replied in her usual cold and neutral tone. It irked Naruto that Soifon was like this all the time. The only time she would drop this stoic mask was whenever Yoruichi was brought up or when she was with her lieutenant.

"Hey Soifon! How's it going?"

"I am doing fine, Naruto. Please explain to me why you are calling me at this hour?"

"I just called to file a complaint."

"The 2nd Division does not serve as the department of human resources, Naruto."

"I'm aware of that. I'm calling to direct a complaint against the Onmitsukidō itself. It deals with faulty information I received for my mission."

Soifon paled at this as Naruto casually continued.

"The information that Old Man Yama received said that I was considered to be MIA by Konoha. However, when I got back and meet with my old team, I found out that everybody assumes that I'm dead. Care to explain this little mishap?"

"Um, well you see, it's … it's Omaeda's fault! Yes, he was the one gathering information, and that dumbass dropped the ball while doing it. If there's anyone to blame, its him!"

"Soifon, you blame Omaeda on everything. Why do you even keep him around?"

"So I can use him as a stress reliever. That, and he's rich which has been of some use to the Onmitsukidō."

"Whatever, I'll call you if anything else comes up," Naruto said as he hanged up. Soifon let out a long sigh, as she just dodged a bullet with that phone call. She then returned to what she was previously doing: throwing kunai at a picture of Kisuke Urahara, which hanged on her wall, as if it were a dartboard.

_The next day…_

Naruto sighed as he looked around the condominium. Byakuya was sitting in an armchair, reading one of the books that was found on the shelf. Ichigo was lying on the couch, with Zangetsu propped up on a wall. Renji was currently out on patrol, and so far, he didn't encounter any Hollows. He looked at a clock on the wall, and realized it was time for the meeting with his peers. He got up from the chair he was sitting on and nonchalantly kicked Ichigo several times. Ichigo stumbled off of the couch and landed face first on the floor.

"What the hell was that for, you jackass?!" Ichigo comically shouted, as Naruto calmly stood there, unfazed by the Substitute's outburst.

"It's almost time for the meeting with my peers. Also, you need to apologize to Tsunade-sama. Coming along Byakuya?"

"No," the Kuchiki Clan head replied as he turned a page in his book.

"Suit yourself. Let's go, Ichigo," Naruto said as the two teenagers stepped outside and flashstepped off to the Hokage tower.

[Hokage Tower, Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]

Ichigo and Naruto soon arrived at the Hokage Tower in a matter of minutes, and arrived at Tsunade's office via the window. The blonde sannin, who was currently scratching off a lottery ticket, was surprised at the two's entrance.

"Would it hurt you to use the door?" she asked, clearly annoyed as the two shinigami presented themselves in front of her.

"Sorry, it's out of habit," Naruto said. "Anyways, Ichigo has something to say to you."

"Yeah… sorry about bringing up your age yesterday. I didn't know it was a sensitive topic."

"Apology accepted. Just think before you open your mouth next time, Mr. Kurosaki."

"Just call me Ichigo. I'm not into all of that formal crap," Ichigo said as he took a seat alongside Naruto.

"So Tsunade-sama … do the others know about me now?"

Tsunade nodded at the young captain before beginning her explanation.

"I called Teams 8, 10, and Gai in an hour after our meeting yesterday, and I explained the situation to them. They find it hard to believe that you're alive, and when I told them you're now a death god, they thought I might have gone insane."

"Well, it does sound far-fetched from their perspective," Naruto said as he smiled and scratched the back of his head. "So are they ready to talk to me?"

"Yes they are, Naruto. They're in a room down the hall along with your old team and Sai. Good luck."

"Thanks, Tsunade-sama," Naruto said as he and Ichigo left. Tsunade sat still frozen for a minute, still not use to Naruto using honorifics and respecting his elders/superiors.

The captain and the substitute walked down the hall until they reached the door that Tsunade described. Naruto took a deep breath as he hung his head low. Ichigo didn't fail to notice this.

"You nervous?"

"What do you think?" Naruto said humorlessly as he walked into the room.

* * *

The Konoha 12 were in the room, either sitting on chairs or on a couch. They all looked as a person walked through the door and were shocked at what they saw, with Hinata almost fainting at the sight.

It was Naruto, but he was completely different from the blonde they once knew. He was no longer short and scrawny. Naruto was now around 5'7" or 5'8", and had now had a slightly muscular build. His muscles were lean and tightly compacted, giving the build of an athlete. His hair was also shaggier and unruly, and it now reached the back of his neck. They thing that surprised the Konoha 12 the most was the fact that Naruto was wearing very little orange. The only orange thing he wore was the sash around his waist. Naruto instead wore a black kosode and black hakama with shinobi style sandals and a sleeveless white haori. On the back of the haori was a rhombus that had the kanji for "three" inside of it. He also had on a black headband with a metal plate sewed on to it. Engraved on the plate was the kanji for "shinigami". Lastly, Naruto wore a jade magatama bead necklace around his neck, and had a katana with a burnt orange hilt kept in his sash.

Giving his friends a small smile, Naruto soon broke the silence.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Naruto asked as if he were talking about the weather. However, he was soon bombarded with a barrage of questions.

"Naruto, is it true that you're dead?"

"Who's the kid with the orange hair?"

"Why are you dressed in a kimono?"

"Why don't you look like an actual shinigami?"

Naruto slowly analyzed each of the questions before calmly answering them in order.

"Let me answer your questions in order: Yes, I am dead, the kid behind me is a friend named Ichigo Kurosaki, I'm wearing the standard attire of a shinigami, and actual shinigami are much different from the shinigami you guys know about."

"How so?" Shikamaru asked as he raised an eyebrow at the last statement. He now wore a long sleeved black shirt with matching pants and sandals along with his Chunin vest. He still has his forehead protector on his left bicep, but the metal plate was now sewn onto his shirt.

"First off, it's nice to see you again, Shikamaru. I'm surprised that you haven't made jonin yet."

"As of now, I'm content with being a chunin. Going through the jonin trials is too troublesome."

Naruto chuckled at his friend's behavior as he took a seat.

"Now, where to begin…"

_Half an hour later…_

"And that about covers the abilities and duties of a shinigami," Naruto said as he waited for the questions to come.

"Naruto-san, why are you exactly back among the living?" Shino asked. Naruto was mometarily stunned by this question as he looked at Shino.

"Shino? When did you get here?"

"I have been here the whole time," the Aburame deadpanned as Naruto gave him an apologetic grin.

"Sorry about that. I guess I didn't of notice that you were there," Naruto replied as he got back to the subject at hand.

"As for your question Shino I'm currently here with a team of three other shinigami which includes Ichigo here. We're to protect Konoha from a rogue Shinigami named Sosuke Aizen. Some time ago, he defected along with two other captains. He's currently targeting Konoha for unknown reasons."

"How powerful is this Aizen person?" Neji asked. Naruto sat there in thought before answering.

"Well Neji, he's a cunning bastard, is pretty intelligent, and usually has things planned out well in advance... sometimes by years. He's at the level of a Captain, so he's no pushover either. I heard that he's able to successfully use a 90's level Kidō without the incantation. However, he does have a few weaknesses: he relies too much on his zanpakuto, and I was able to exploit that to my advantage in our fight."

"Heh. If you were able to kick his ass, then this Aizen guy should be easy to take down," Kiba boasted. However, he soon stopped when Naruto gave him a rather stern look while releasing some of his reiatsu.

"_Don't _underestimate Aizen, Kiba. He was able to fool the majority of the Gotei 13 for over one hundred years, and he's able to defeat at least two captains effortlessly. That's why I have a request for you guys: I want you to train to get stronger so you might have a chance of defeating Aizen. After what I saw with my old team you're all going to need it."

All of Naruto's friends simultaneously gave him a nod. Ichigo, who was standing in a corner with his arms crossed, smiled at this. He was glad that Naruto's friends didn't treat him any differently, even though they may or may not of known about the burden he carried.

Naruto gave his friends one of his usual big grins before turning to leave.

"Thanks guys. If you want to catch up later or meet the rest of my team, then I'm always open. Let's go, Ichigo."

The orange-haired teenager nodded and followed Naruto down the hallway. However, they suddenly stopped when they heard the sounds of running footsteps. Both of them turned around to see Rock Lee running towards them. Lee had changed the least out of the Konoha 12, with the only change in his attire being a chunin vest.

"Oh, what's up, Bushy Brows?"

Ichigo blinked in confusion.

"_Bushy Brows...?_" he thought to himself as Lee continued to speak with Naruto.

"Naruto-kun! First off, I want to tell you that I am glad that your flames of youth are burning as bright as ever, even if you are now a spirit."

"Um … thanks, I guess."

"Secondly, I wish to spar with you later, and see how the techniques that Gai-sensei has taught fare against this 'hakuda' of yours."

"I'll definitely spar against you, Lee. But you should be warned: I'll be giving it my all."

"And I shall likewise. Good day to you, Naruto-kun and Kurosaki-kun," Lee said energetically as he ran off to find his teammates and sensei. Ichigo just stood there, dumbfounded by this rather eccentric shinobi he just met.

"What the hell are the 'flames of youth'?"

"I've been asking myself that question ever since I meet him. The only thing that I have figured so far is that its pretty amusing."

[Training Ground 7, Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]

_The Next Day…_

Renji and Ichigo were currently sitting under the shade of a tree as they watched Naruto and Byakuya spar each other. Both of them had their sealed zanpakutos out, and were currently trading blows with each other. Byakuya had his in a one-handed grip, and was delivering a series of quick blows to Naruto. The Third Division captain, on the other hand, had his in a two-handed grip and was blocking Byakuya's blows while delivering powerful ones of his own. Both of the captains created some distance between them and placed their swords by their sides.

"**Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan **(Hundred Steps Fence)," Naruto shouted as he created a glowing, blue-light rod of energy in his free hand and threw it at Byakuya as if it were a javelin. It then multiplied into a hundred more of these rods as they sped towards Byakuya, who was unfazed by this.

"**Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku **(Locking Bondage Stripes)," Byakuya said as his hands created a golden chain made out of reiryoku. However, instead of using it to bind Naruto, he instead used it break each of the rods of Naruto's spell, as it swiftly destroyed the projectiles as if it were a serphant. Byakuya then pointed his index and middle fingers at Naruto.

"**Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui **(Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down)," Byakuya announced as he fired off two torrents of light blue reiryoku at the Third Division Captain. Naruto just smirked at this as he raised his own palm and started to create a crackling orb of yellow lightening.

"**Hadō #63: Raikōhō **(Thunder Roar Sear)," Naruto said as he releaed his build up energy, which took the form of a lightening strike. Despite Raikōhō being ten levels lower then Sōren Sōkatsui, it was able to cancel out the spell. Naruto then outsetreched his entire right arm as he announced his next attack.

"**Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Reihō **(Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon)."

Soon, a gigantic beam of electrical reiryoku shout out of Naruto's palm and raced towards Byakuya. The Kuchiki clan head was taken back by this, but was able to snap out of his shock and flashstepped away from the incoming attack. This had also caught Renji's attention, since Naruto was using a high level Kidō spell with relative ease. Byakuya then reappeared in front of Naruto, looking slightly impressed.

"I am not a person who gives out compliments, Captain Uzumaki, but I must give credit where it is due: that was most impressive. You have only been a shingami for three years and are able to use high level Kidō without an incantation. Kidō prodigies such as Momo Hinamori or your lieutenant Izuru Kira have not been able to accomplish a feat such as that."

"Thanks, I guess; you're not too shabby yourself." Naruto said as Byakuya raised his sword in front of him, before saying his zanpakuto's release command.

"**Scatter, Sebonzakura **(One Thousand Cherry Blossoms)."

The blade of Byakuya's sword soon disintegrated into thousands of smaller blades, which now looked like cherry blossoms. Despite the impeding danger racing towards him, Naruto was unfazed as he held his sword in front of him.

"**Break Through the Storm, Kaze no Moi,"**

Naruto's zanpakuto soon took the shape of its chokuto form. He then raised his sword in a defensive position, as the blade started to emit large gusts of winds that blew Byakuya's shikai away. Byakuya was hardly amused, as he redirected his shikai to attack Naruto from behind. However, he failed to notice orange reiryoku covering the chokuto, which was soon covered by a small cyclone.

"**Kazekama!," **Naruto yelled as he launched his attack at Byakuya's shikai, which was able to push the tiny blades back. However, before either Captain could continue their spar, a low, impressed whistle interrupted them.

"Wow, that's some pretty techniques the two of you are fighting with."

The Shinigami turned and noticed Kakashi, along with the rest of Team 7, walking towards them. The two teams were soon face to face with each other.

"Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?"

"Well, this is technically our training field Naruto."

"Sorry, I forgot about that," Naruto replied sheepishly as his zanpakuto returned to his sealed state.

"And I also wanted to see how much you have improved compared to Team 7 since you've passed on."

"And how do you plan on doing that, Kakshi-sensei?"

Kakashi's response was to reach into his pocket and pull out a pair of shiny silver bells that were attached by two strings. Naruto felt himself inwardly groan at this revelation.

"You have _got _to be kidding me."

Next Time - Bell Test

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**Please remember to leave a review, even if it's something simple "nice chapter" or "please update soon". And remember, I have a story challenge on my profile if anybody is interested in taking it. **


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